


Is Forever Really Forever?

by erinor



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, BUT THIS ONE, F/M, Fluff, HELL YEA, I actually have gud plans for this fic, ITS GONNA B GUD I PROMISE, M/M, Side Quest, Slow Burn, actually no it could be worse im sorry, alex and magnus get closer, also, also get ready for sum, also its going to be longer than my last one, also some past family things, and plenty of, excitment, fierrochase, have fun, i just love magnus and alex, i just want them to be happy and stuff they need it, i think the ship is called fierrochase, kinda cliche but i want this to be like a soulmate thing so sorry if thats not what you like, like in between hammer of thor and ship of the dead if u get what i mean, like samirah and hearth and blitz, lots of fluff, mentions of characters, not really smut but it gets steamy at sum point idk, well its way better than my last freaking fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-01-10 10:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12297081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erinor/pseuds/erinor
Summary: Magnus has had enough. Getting Thor's hammer back was as awful as it sounds, but that really doesn't mean he gets a break. He's dead anyways, he has all the time in the world until Ragnarok. Unfortunately, that means Magnus has plenty of time to catch up with his favorite person, Alex. Fortunately, that means he can get closer with Alex.Family issues spring up in the midst of all the anxiety, you know like having to cross an ocean with a bag-lady who hates you. Whatever.Also, what if becoming an einherji means that Magnus was one step closer to finding out who his soulmate is?





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> hi sorry i havent touched my last fic since like 2015. I promise i won't do that with this one. I'll also try to post at least one chapter a week, depending on my time and how long the chapter is. Also, sorry this first chapter is VERY short. I kinda wanted to post it asap since ship of the dead just got released, and because i'm super excited for this fic!!!!! i love fierrochase so muc h  
> please enjoy, kudos are appreciated :) comments, too if ya'll want.

 

“Good morning, Beantown.” 

Alex bumped his hip against Magnus’s. 

“Scoot over or I’ll shove you off the couch.” 

“Okay okay,” Magnus replied, holding his hands in front of him. “sorry.” 

It was early morning, too early for anyone on floor 19 to be out of their rooms. Except of course, Alex. Why was he here, anyways?

“You can’t sleep either?” He asked, quietly. 

“I, no actually. How did you?”

“Don’t question it.” A warning edge to his voice.

“I’m just.” Magnus sighed and looked to the floor. 

The lounge area on their floor was surprisingly comforting, the silence a relief to everything that has been happening to Magnus lately. Everything was becoming difficult to him, he could barely concentrate on the battlefield. Which in turn, ended up getting him killed very quickly, and him not even realizing it until he woke up on his perfectly made bed, sweating and confused, and aching _everywhere_.

But then there were the nightmares. He dreamed of crashing, burning ships, falling-falling into the strikingly cold, dark ocean. His lungs filling with water and the pressure crushing his body. In the ocean, he was nothing.

After the third night of horrid dreams, he jolted awake, eyes popped open, as he clutched his shirt, right over his heart.

The heart that stopped beating in a sea of nothingness. Alone.

Having enough of this, Magnus decided to leave his room for a bit. Quietly walking down the hall, he plopped right down onto the couch by the fireplace. All he could do to calm himself down was to breathe, and put himself somewhere else. Or, more like all his mom taught him to do. It worked, nonetheless.

One night, when Magnus was about 8, he had a dream of snarling wolves stealing his mother away in the dead of night. He woke up screaming for her. She rushed into the room, hugging him and stroking his head, soothing him with gentle words.

“It’s okay, I’m here, I’m not gone. I promise you, I’ll never leave you.”

After Magnus calmed down, she invited him to sleep in her room that night.

“Yes please.” He would sniffle.

The recurring memory would often leave him severely missing his mother. Her green fairy like eyes, wave of a blonde pixie cut, and her flannels. Especially their hiking trips. As they walked along the long trails, and the hazy summer heat. It was bearable, pleasant. His hand right in his mother’s, the sensation of happiness and warmth, he missed it.

Magnus missed his mom so much, it hurt. The pain in his chest, like it’s knotting up and wringing his guts, and how his heart seems to stop and cave in on itself.

“You’re ‘just’ what?” Alex said, his amber and dark brown eye’s boring into Magnus. He snapped back into reality.

Gulping, he flicked his eyes downwards, trying to avoid his hard stare. Talking to Alex was different at times, but it soothed him, a bit.

“Have you, you know? Been having…nightmares too?”

“Nightmares,” Alex replied, his head slightly tilting downwards, while raising his eyebrows. “yeah. Actually, I have.”

“The ocean…?”

“And drowning?” He said, his eyes suddenly widening.

Magnus blinked, disbelief that him and Alex seemed to be having the same dreams. At the same moment, Alex got up and hastily started to make his way back to the hallway leading to their rooms.

“Wait, where are you going?” Magnus called.

“I need to think for a bit.” He said, already out of view.

Which, made _Magnus_ think.

Maybe this is good thing. Now they can become closer or something. Not that Magnus cared that much of course. Alex is just a friend, that’s it. But, strangely, Magnus always felt complete with him.

They made a perfect team, and maybe, just maybe Alex thought that too. Probably. He wasn’t going to dwell too much on that anyways.

“Whatever.” He grumbled to himself, resting his chin on his hands, while watching the dying fire’s dim glow. He would try again to talk, tomorrow. They have all the time in the world, anyways. Up until Ragnarok, really. But what if Magnus didn’t last as an immortal einherji until then?

His forever may not be forever, at least, not without Alex.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI GUYS UHHHHH  
> WELL SORRY THAT I LITERALLY DECIDED TO DO THIS FIC BEFORE SHIP OF THE DEAD CAME OUT.  
> its kinda weird tho bc i know a lot of you already read it or are about to so everything is just different and stuff. So again, this takes place before ship of the dead. I know nothing of what happens, so pls don't attack me  
> I haven't read it yet and I really really want to but atm I have no money nor time to go out and buy it :( But someone spoiled it for me on IG sooooooo uhhhhh just enjoy this chapter, Kind of rushed and short, but it's pretty okay  
> (sorry mallory is a lil OOC)

His heart.

He woke up feeling as groggy as ever, crusted eyes and his head feeling thick with sleep. The only thing he could recall was staring at the fire, and then drifting off into a light sleep. When he opened his eyes, he saw a mop of curly red hair looming over him.

“Good morning Mallory.”

“Morning yourself. Do care to answer why, exactly, you’re here?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Good enough. I was about to decapitate you.”

“You’re joking.”

Mallory’s face did _not_ look like she was joking. In fact, Magnus thought he saw the glint of a blade, being sheathed.

“I don’t joke.”

“Right.” He gulped.

“You look like hell, why don’t you go back to your room?”

“Wow, I didn’t know you actually cared about me. This makes me feel better.”

“Well, you’re certainly not showing it.”

Magnus just shook his head. Typical Mallory.

As he got up, he recalled the conversation with Alex a few hours ago. Maybe he should go check up on him.

Walking down the hall, he stopped at Alex’s door. Oh gods, no maybe he should just go back to his room. The last time he talked with Alex, he had tried chucking as many pieces of broken pottery as he could, right at Magnus’s head. It didn’t end well.

No wait, maybe he should. He kind of just ‘ran off’ last night. He seemed distressed, like the whole dream thing spooked him.

Well, that wasn’t so surprising to Magnus. When he first got here, and _he_ started having dreams, he didn’t know how to deal with it. He tried to bring himself to talk about it with Blitz and Hearth, but that didn’t really help him. Sure, he felt good to have it off his chest, but he just didn’t feel calmed.

But that was the opposite with Alex. He felt just the bit better, even if they only spoke for a few minutes. And the weight in his chest felt lifted. He just didn’t know how to explain that to Alex. Still though, he took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

Silence, and then: “No Magnus, just go away. I’m busy.”

Pursing his lips, he said “A-are you sure? You just left in a rush last night, I wasn’t sure if you- “

“Magnus, look I’m- “Alex opened the door, only halfway. “-fine. I don’t need you coming around every so often, as if I’m a wounded animal. I can take care of myself, thanks.”

“But?”

“Goodbye have a great day.” He said, smiling and then slamming the door, the quick puff of wind ruffling Magnus’s hair.

“Alright, great talk.” He muttered, walking back to his room. Swinging the door shut, he collapsed right in the center of the atrium. The bright sun-like light creating a comforting warmth on his body. Magnus didn’t even feel his eyes shut.

 

 

“Magnus… MAGNUS!” A girl’s shriek.

“GET UP, _GET UP!_ ” The voice sounded familiar.

Magnus’s eyes opened. He stared up at a very grey sky, practically black. Suddenly, some water sprayed him on the face. Sitting up, he instantly regretted it, as his world literally tipped to the side. His left side.

Heart pounding, he tried to get himself up, but struggling in the process a due to all the water on the floor.

He was on a ship. Licking his lips, he tasted the salt water that had fallen on him earlier. All around him was just open ocean, with waves higher than a house. The sky was rumbling, and lightning flashed everywhere, occasionally striking the open sea beyond. Water was thrown on board, which made it _very_ hard to maneuver.

“MAGNUS, SOME HELP?!”

Annabeth. He had to help Annabeth, with whatever she was doing.

Moving, he kept feeling sick with the swaying of the ship, and trying his hardest to get to Annabeth.

“Magnus, help me tie this NOW.” She yelled, thunder rolling over them. Another flash of lightning.

Grasping the ropes, he hulled with all his einherji strength, both being reeled back occasionally with the tempest winds barreling into the ships sails. Finally, by some luck, they managed to get the rope tied down, with the sail still bulging forward.

“Annabeth, starboard, I need help!” A new voice, but it sounded too familiar.

“Percy, hold on!” She yelled. Running, she veered towards the back of the deck, grasping a pole as the ship tilted sideways again.

_Percy… Percy_

A thud, and a scream. Suddenly, a large fin appeared, snaking along the water. Frozen, Magnus panicked. The fin slid down again, but then came back up attached to a large scaly tail, slick with sea water. Green, it was green and blue, dark enough to be concealed in the cold waters of the north.

The tail finally fell back into the water, only to come back up and slam into the deck, behind Magnus. It curled around, squeezing the boat. It was trying to constrict it, trying to break the ship apart. They were its next meal.

Magnus, finally out of his shock, fumbled for sumarbrander, only to find the infamous sword to be nowhere around his neck. Gone, completely gone. Magnus searched his pockets, his coat _everything_. And, nothing.

Cursing, he whipped around to go help Annabeth, but stopped dead as he saw someone, no _something_ zip by. A…Cheetah?

No, not a cheetah, Alex. The cheetah leapt overboard, transforming into something large.

A sea dragon. Relatively smaller than the giant sea serpent currently trying to kill them, but nonetheless big. Leave it up to Alex.

Clawing the ship’s side, he tried moving towards the creature’s tail, but didn’t make it in time.

“ _PERCY!”_ Annabeth shrieked. 

The boat exploded. Or no actually, just crushed. Rubble went everywhere, sailing past their heads, the mast being thrown the farthest. Magnus went flying. His body slammed into the water, sending sparks of pain throughout his body. He forgot how to move. He started to sink, and as soon as his head went under water, he remembered how to think.

_Annabeth. Percy, Alex._

_Where’s Alex?_

“Mgn…” A murky voice.

He started flailing, his arms moving in every direction, and his legs kicking impossibly hard against the rising and falling waves. His head bobbed up, only to be pushed back down by the waves. Where was the sea monster?

“M... NUS!”

Arms wrapped around his body, and hauled him up. Sputtering, the other person was struggling to keep Magnus above the water. He coughed, and tried to kick up, but he ended up kicking the other person, and eventually dragging them down.

_No, this isn’t how I die._

He kept kicking, and moving. He was going to live.

Well, he thought. Something grabbed his leg—wrapping around his ankle—and tugged him down. He tried to fight, kept kicking the thing, but he kept going down.

Someone grabbed his hand, the same person from before. They pulled him up, desperately trying to bring him up to the surface.

Magnus inhaled water, eyes popping, and he began to lose strength. He looked up one last time to see who had tried to save him.

Alex. His green hair a halo around his face, his lips pursed so tightly, and his gold eye burning bright in the dark water. Magnus lost consciousness, as Alex screamed his name. His heart stopped beating.

 

 

             
Magnus woke up. His face was contorted into a silent scream, his hand clutching his shirt again, right above his heart. He died again in his dream, and every single time it felt like it was real.

He shook his head, and sat up, hunching over and just… Thinking.

Why does he always dream about dying _the same exact way_. Why isn’t Sam there? Or Hearth and Blitz, and-

Jack… where was Jack?

Magnus’s hand crept up to his neck… only to feel the familiarity of Jack’s pendant. He released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

Pushing himself off the grass, he decided it was time to talk to Samirah al-Abbas. He told himself before that he wouldn’t get her involved with… whatever he was going through. She had her own life, and he respected the fact that maybe she wanted to feel ‘normal’ for once. Even if it was just for a bit. Maybe she was on Valkyrie duty, he couldn’t bother her then.

_But she’s your friend_

No, he would leave her alone. They were just dreams, not really something that could mean _anything._ Right?

But still, Magnus felt this tugging feeling in his gut, like it _will_ happen. And that maybe mentioning them is important.

A loud knocking on his door.

“Magnus, I know you’re in there. Open the door, we need to talk _now._ ”

He rushed to the door, only to find a (surprisingly) worried Alex. His eyes kept shifting back and forth, like something was after him.

“Alex? What’s wrong?”

“Odin’s raven’s. They keep following me, and there’s some other stuff. That I need to talk to you about- stop it.”

“Stop what?” He asked.

“Grinning like that, this isn’t the time.”

“Well earlier you said- “

“Coffee, twenty minutes. I’ll be waiting.” With that, Alex left and shut the door for Magnus.

_Alex likes… Coffee?_

He took a deep breath, and went to wash his face. He had a feeling that whatever he wanted to talk about wasn’t something mundane.


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI SO i'm sorry it took long to update. I promised I would take a week max, so here it is. Also, I FINALLY READ SHIP OF THE DEAD ITS SO GOOD  
> Sorry that i'm not the best author but I just love these two so mu ch  
> enjoy !

“Since when did you like lattes?” Magnus asked, finally gaining the courage to speak to Alex. He’s been off lately, more so than usual. Alex was himself—that’s for sure—but Magnus could feel the lingering feeling of something that was bothering him. Like ever since they returned Thor’s hammer, Alex had been keeping to himself. Most of the time in his room creating beautiful pottery, and other times smashing said pottery. Magnus knew this because the sounds of pots and vases hitting the door and exploding into shards could be heard for thousands of miles.

Also, this one time, Magnus slipped on a piece of broken pottery, which for some odd reason killed him. And he was pretty sure his dead body was there for quite a bit. Alex probably laughed his head off.

“I don’t drink coffee often, but when I do it’s when I really need the energy. Don’t be so thick.”

“Thick? What is this, the 1900’s?”

“It’s ‘nicer’ than saying stupid.”

“Alex, we both know you’re not nice.”

“Nah, you’re just too stupid to see how great I am.”

“This is the second time you call me stupid.”

“And I’ll do it a third time and fourth. Won’t change the fact that you’re stupid.”

“Love you too.” He blurted out, instantly regretting it. It was a sarcastic comment, which he usually threw around like it was nothing. But saying it to Alex felt… Weird. Different. Nice?

Alex seemed to shrug it off, not like he really cared.

“So,” Magnus discreetly cleared his throat. “what did you need to talk about?”

“Odin’s trash ravens. They’ve been pestering me all week, and today, _finally,_ they sent me a message. Odin wants to meet us, and he wanted me to tell you.”

_He couldn’t just send the ravens to me?_

“When?”

“Today, but that’s not the only reason I wanted to talk to you."

“Okay what’s up—“

“The nightmares, Magnus. I normally don’t care about them, but something is going on. I keep dreaming, about you,”

The fact that Alex admitted dreaming about him sent some kind of feeling, kind of pleasant.

“And you—we keep drowning. I try to save you, but we both end up dying. It’s weird. And _I’m_ weird, but this is weirder.”

“Wait, so you’re?”

“What _I’m saying_ is that, what if we actually die? Sometimes the dreams aren’t true, more like warnings or messages, but never completely true. Sam told me this, but the point is that this is something recurring. You know that. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t feel like dying out at sea. Seems too overrated.”

“Wow, great way to enjoy a cup of coffee.”

“Shut it Beantown. I’m worried.”

“Well if Sam thinks it’s okay, then maybe we should just trust her. We don’t set sail until weeks from now, so maybe it’s not as bad as you think.”

“Why do I even talk to you?” Alex muttered.

“Because I’m great.”

“False.” He smiled, while taking his cup of latte and propping his legs up on the table.

“That’s unsanitary.” Magnus poked his foot.

“Like you, then.” He shot back, kicking Magnus’s hand away.

“Okay, for one that was rude, and two, I don’t usually have flakes of clay in my hair.”

“Pff, you’re joking. I’m flawless. You’re just jealous of my perfect hair.” Sipping his coffee, he instantly slammed it down, startling Magnus.

“C’mon let’s go, Odin the Almighty awaits.”

 

 

Indeed, Odin was _sort of_ waiting. He wasn’t there. As usual, his wonderful ravens perched on his desk, one of them springing towards Alex and attempted to claw his hair. He swatted it away, cursing quite a bit.

The raven on the left signaled to Magnus, indicating that there was indeed a note on the worn desk. Addressed to none other than… You guessed it! Magnus and Alex.

The letter looked old fashioned, with a fancy red seal on the front. It reminded Magnus more of the olden days of England rather than some old fancy Norse scroll. Did they even use scrolls?

“I’m surprised he didn’t leave a PowerPoint for us.”

“Me too…”

“Well, what does it say?” Alex asked, walking over and peering over Magnus’s shoulder. 

Taking a sharp breath, he ripped the wax seal and unfolded the letter.

“ _Dear Magnus Chaste and Alex Fierro,”_

“Pff, chaste.” Alex snickered.

Magnus continued.

“ _It has come to my attention that one of my fabulous ravens has lost one of their feathers. It is quite important that I get this back, and I would love to elaborate on this, but I haven’t got the time. I assume that, with the incline of the windy weather that my feather has traveled quite far from here. The windy city seems to be the best place to look first, so I would suggest starting there. I will be waiting for your arrival, with the feather.”_

“A feather. A _feather._ No, this is a joke. Why am I even involved in this?” Alex said, throwing his hands in the air, clearly exasperated.

"Wait, there’s more.” Magnus said, turning the letter over, revealing more of the (beautiful) cursive.

“ _Alex, pairs of the soul unbreakable, can only be found with time in between. Expect it soon.” -Sif_

Alex blanched. His amber and brown eyes glowing with rage or shock, Magnus couldn’t tell. He snatched the paper from Magnus, and raked his eyes over the lines again and again.

“Okay, well I guess we have a quest. A stupid one, but nonetheless, a wonderful quest.” Alex was pissed; his mouth started twitching on one side. Sometimes it bothered Magnus, sometimes it didn’t. Magnus wondered if he had a nervous tick. No one ever pointed one out to him, so he doubted he had one.

“Wait, what did Sif mean by— “

“It’s probably nothing,” Alex quickly crumpled up the paper and shoved it in his jeans pocket. Today, he wore pink skinny jeans, a light green t-shirt, and a green and pink hoodie tied around his waist. Along with rose high tops. He looked good, like they weren’t about to embark on a quest. He looked like he was about to take a stroll in the park.

Which sounded nice to Magnus. Not like they ever got breaks anyways, so a stroll in the park sounded so good at the moment. Maybe, after this, and if Loki took his sweet darling time sailing on his ship of old toe and finger nails, he would take a break. And probably, (if Alex didn’t decapitate him for asking) ask Alex if he wanted to come along.

“We should contact Sam, see what she has to say about this. I don’t know about you, but she sounds like our best option at the moment.” Magnus said, interrupting Alex’s train of thought. He was staring intently at the desk, brows narrowed, as if the letter really bothered him. Like some life changing aspect was written down. Maybe there was, but Magnus didn’t want to irritate Alex more than he already was.

“Yeah,” Alex said quietly, more to himself than to Magnus. “We should.”

 

 

“So, you’re saying,” Sam said, her green hijab flowing freely in a phantom wind. “That Odin, sent both of you on a quest. For a feather?” Her brows rose in the middle, her face in disbelief. Of course, who wouldn’t be. A quest deemed ‘super important’ over a feather.

“Yes, and I—we wanted to know if you could, you know, tag along?” Magnus smiled weakly. Even if it was just a feather (honestly) the quest itself reeked of danger and trouble. Sam may not be the best at avoiding trouble, but she was part of their team. It wouldn’t be the same without her.

“Magnus, look.” Oh no. She had the pity face on. “I want to help, and if I could I would. But I can’t.”

Surprisingly, Alex remained silent.

“This quest was formally given to you by Odin. It means it’s something really important, and if he says it can only be you and Alex, then it’s just you and Alex.”

Gods, _why_ couldn’t Magnus be born as a mortal? Why didn’t his family just? Not get involved with deities of ‘another realm’. It was so stupid. He’s literally wasting time he could be using to prepare to face Loki. But no, Odin the ‘great creator’ blah blah blah had told him to find the belonging of a bird. Hooray!

“Fine.” Alex finally said, his face looking hard. “We respect Odin’s wishes or whatever. Can you at least help us figure out what’s so special about a feather?”

"Sure, I’ll—”

The cawing of a raven screeched down the hall. Faster than Magnus could register, the raven swooped down and dropped a piece of folded paper on Sam’s lap.

Unfolding the small note, Sam was silent for a few moments.  

“What’s wrong?” Magnus said, an effort to break the silence.

“Magnus, I have to go. Duty calls, according to the raven. And Odin.”

At the same time, Sam’s phone began to ring. She pulled it out, and scowled.

“What?!” Said Magnus.

“Nothing, I just have to go. I’m sorry.” She hastily got up, and disappeared in a golden flash.

Well, goodbye Sam and hello pointless and awful quest.

But, at least Alex was coming along. Magnus didn’t know how he would feel if he had to do this himself. Not that it was something utterly frightening, but just lonely. The company could keep Magnus from imagining the many ways a god (or his ravens) could be strangled. In fact, if Magnus ever even mentioned ‘strangle’ and ‘ravens’, he was sure Alex would offer himself up at any time of the day just to ‘help out’. Most likely, take _over._

“So, I guess you and that raven didn’t really settle on good terms.” Magnus said, remembering all the times the birds had provoked Alex.

“Ever since I stepped foot into this place those birds,” He spat out the word _birds_. “Have tormented me at any chance. And now I’m stuck going on a quest for them.”

“I totally agree with you, but maybe this is some kind of training? Maybe Odin is telling us that by succeeding at a stupid and useless quest, we can learn something from it. And possibly get a break from Loki or something.”

“We literally train here like, every day, for Ragnarok. Why embark us on a pointless quest when we can just stay here?” Alex was getting heated now, his face slightly red and eyes blazing with unspoken rage.

“Alex, I don’t know. But I think it would be best if we just listened.”

“Listen, I’m tired of all these stupid ‘fate’ stuff and destiny or whatever. Odin is always sprouting riddles and orders. Why send us? What good can we do. I’m Loki’s kid, someone who is usually shunned. Your dad is a frolicking summer god, and all you can do is _heal people._ Your sword does all the work for you. The only reason Odin wants us on this quest is to see if the runts of the group can survive the wild. We’re useless, and unwanted. The sad thing is that I’m used to this.”

The words stung. Magnus felt like he was slapped in the face, his eyes casting downward briefly, then back at Alex. He was lost for words. So what if Jack helped him in battle? So what if his dad was the god of summer? He knew, just _knew_ Alex was only bitter at the moment. He didn’t mean what he said, right?

“Whatever. Odin said it was important, maybe even defeating-Loki-stopping-Ragnarok important. So, we have to go.” Magnus turned around, leaving Alex to rage by himself in the lobby. He just needed to cool off, that’s it.

Magnus wished he could talk to Blitz and Hearth. Sam was obviously out of the question right now, and Magnus really missed his best friends. They always stuck together, ever since Magnus was on the streets. What a horrible time for them to be gone. Magnus felt like kicking a chair. Actually, he felt like kicking a chair and then chucking said chair against his wall. Yeah, maybe he needed to let off some steam. And then prepare for The Ultimate Quest for a Ravens Feather!

Magnus stomped back into his room, and vigorously splashed cold water into his face. It helped, sort of.

Leaving the bathroom, a picture on the mantel caught his eye. It was new, hotel Valhalla did that sometimes. Some pictures Magnus forgot about, or didn’t remember, showed up in his room. This picture was of him and his mom, Magnus smiling so wide, it almost took up his entire face. His mother was hugging him tightly, and smiling her usual calm and loving smile. Sometimes, when Magnus was angry to the point of punching his pillow, his mom would come and sooth him, and eventually Magnus would tone down enough to sag into his mom’s arms. Sometimes, she would sing her favorite songs, and he would fall asleep. Napping always made him feel better. It was comforting.

Rubbing his temples, Magnus collapsed in bed and drifted into a light sleep, waiting for the war games to start later after dinner. Maybe then, he could relieve some stress.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so uh, sorry I haven't really been active, I've had a couple rough weeks with school and all. My gov class sucks butt and I had been meaning to post this chapter since like tuesday??? WHOOPS!  
> well here ya go, I'm sorry if it's a little bland, also I notice I write a lot of dialogue. (I feel like this chapter is also short????) Also sorry about that. Enjoy, kudos and comments are appreciated :D

Magnus stared down T.J. He had flung some food at Magnus earlier, and Magnus promised him a fight. He meant with food, but T.J wound up going against him in the battlefield after dinner. Wonderful way to end your day, right?

Magnus got shot the second the games started. T.J had run up and hid himself well, then charged at Magnus, catching him completely unaware. The funny thing was that T.J never really used his gun for shooting, he would just fasten his bayonet and literally impale everything in his line of site. He most likely used the actual _gun_ to spite Magnus.

Blood began to ooze from his thigh, leaving him limping as fast as he could away from the fights all around him. Of course, he would never outrun T.J and his bayonet at this pace. He felt like an old man, hobbling pathetically into the trees and hiding. His heart just wasn’t in the games today. Calling on the power of Frey, he sloppily healed his leg wound, and continued walking (quite slowly). He was pretty sure he was glowing, which must have been a dead giveaway to literally all the einherjar on the battlefield.

At some point, he wound up quit far from his hallmates, and hoped the ravens wouldn’t peck at him for being a bystander. He was tired, and the lovely conversation he and Alex had earlier just… replayed over and over in his head. The way Alex seemed so tense and distracted, like something else was bothering him. That letter, that letter from Sif must have triggered it. Magnus remembered how Alex had first felt about the goddess. That Sif had reminded him too much of his step mother, all fussy and uptight. But, then something changed, and Alex had started to appreciate Sif, and even went out of his way to create a beautiful ceramic trophy for her. Magnus knew, because soon after he left his room the day they got back from returning Thor’s hammer, Alex had kindly thrown a piece of pottery at his head. It missed though, which Magnus was happy about.

But it still bothered him. Alex wasn’t _trying_ to hurt him. It was a mistake. He’s shut Magnus out before, not surprising that he’s doing it again. But, then again, it was hard being out on the battlefield when one of your closest friends had thrown shard after shard of broken pottery at your heart. Metaphorically, of course.

Magnus needed some cheering up, that was for sure. Reluctantly, he raised his hand towards the pendent around his neck, seeking the comfort (and loud, awful singing.) of Jack.

Closing his fist around nothing, Magnus soon remembered that he didn’t bring Jack on the field today. But then again, Jack never liked the battlefield. Something about being ‘too good’ and ‘no hot lady swords to impress’. Typical swords. So, Magnus was stuck with the same old steel blade, unbalanced as can be in his hand.

Releasing a silent huff, he began to trudge off to fight again, hopefully to find T.J and let him impale his stomach with his bayonet.

Suddenly, a familiar wire wrapped around his neck, and he was forced to his knees as the person behind him kicked him to the ground. The wire tightened, leaving Magnus unable to move an inch to look at his attacker. Green hair appeared in his vision, tickling his forehead and nose bridge.

“The sorry excuse for birds don’t like it when rebellious einherji refuse to play on the battle field.”

Alex’s amber and brown eyes shown with hard determination. Determination to decapitate him and be done with it. His face was too close.

Feeling a little heated, Magnus tried to crane his neck back a bit, which then led to the garrote slicing part of his skin. It stung, with little droplets of blood trickling down his back. It tickled, and he tried his hardest to stay still.

“I think I’ll kill you now, so the birds or T.J don’t get to you first… Or, you know what? Seeing you getting gutted wouldn’t hurt. I would pay to see that, actually.”

“That’s disgusting.” Magnus said. Well, tried to say. It came out more like a rasp “Gaaaachh”

Alex’s lip curled into a wry, mischievous smile. “Sorry, what was that?”

More blood trailed down Magnus’s shirt, his neck threatening to be sliced at any moment. “Why?” He managed.

“I feel better when I kill you, I’m not sure why. Also, this is much better than a bayonet.”

Magnus’s face began to turn a lovely shade of purple.

Alex let go of him, which caused him to slump forward and clutch his neck. His breathing was ragged, and the blood was still slightly oozing.

After a few moments, Alex spoke up, his voice soft and stone cold. “Listen, I know I said some stuff, that may have been a bit… harsh.”

“Out of all the time we had,” Magnus rasped, each word pronounced slowly and softly. “Why the battlefield? We can die at any moment.”

“Well, its alone time, right? Plus, I just needed time to cool off.”

“Then why strangle me half to death?”

“So you couldn’t run away when I tried to talk to you.”

“Clever.”

“I know right, I’m a genius. But in all seriousness, Magnus, I really just... I get upset a lot. And sometimes I don’t think before I speak. So, if you—”

A gunshot was fired, leaving a good-sized bullet hole in Magnus’s stomach.

“EAT LEAD, MAGNUS!” T.J started to rush over to them, his bayonet covered in gore and a few dirt stains. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“Sorry Beantown, guess I gotta kill you now. Meet you at café 19 before we set off on our ridiculous quest? Great see you then!” Alex looped his garrote around Magnus so quickly that he didn’t really have time to process everything going on around him. The only thing he could think about was to heal his wound—

And Alex sliced his neck clean through, his head toppling off his body and thudding on the ground below. Magnus wasn’t really craving decapitation today, but oh well. He’s dead, anyways.

 

 

Magnus awoke to a steady stream of sunlight, fractured by the branches of the tree in his room. Groaning, he hauled himself out of bed and went to go check the phone in his kitchenette. The time read 6:43 am.

Annoyed, he stumbled for the bathroom, relieved to be able to take a good shower.

As he left the bathroom, he sifted through his (quite large) Hotel Valhalla closet. Pulling out a jean Jacket, green sweater (of course with Hotel Valhalla printed on the front) and black jeans, he quickly threw everything on. He was nervous. Actually, that was an understatement. Magnus was freaking out.

In a few weeks, he would be meeting with Percy Jackson in order to learn about the sea and not-dying out in the ocean. In a few weeks, Magnus needed to go and defeat Loki and thus postponing Ragnarok. And now, right now, he had to go and find a feather for Odin or he might be kicked out of Valhalla. (Well, he thought.) If he died outside on this quest, then that would be it. He would end up in Helheim, and maybe see his mother again.

Which, didn’t sound so bad. Would his mom be happy to see him? Sometimes he would day dream about meeting her again, at wrong times of course. This one time, during Viking 101 the Advanced Course, he ended up getting impaled by one the throwing axes because he kept thinking about his mother.

Sometimes, he thought about the times they would go hiking, and she would usher him to hurry up, so he could see the scenery beyond. Other times, he imagined himself finally seeing her, running up and hugging her again. He especially missed all the nicknames she would give him, and how she would get ‘day dreamy’ when she talked about his dad.

He never really blamed his dad, he knew that there were boundaries that you couldn’t cross, even as a higher being. But other times, he wished that his father never met his mom. Maybe then, he wouldn’t have lost her. Maybe, it would have been better.

Magnus sighed, and glumly trudged down the hall towards the elevator. The music only worsened his mood. But sadly, Norwegian elevator music wasn’t the _worst_ thing that he’s ever heard. Which he supposed was a good thing.

Finally arriving down to the lobby, Magnus stepped out of the elevator and (slowly) walked down, sort of dreading the meeting at the café. He noticed some einherjar staring at him, then quickly looking away. Others were whispering. Magnus doubted it was anything good. Maybe they heard about his ridiculous quest. And how he was useless. Like Alex said.

Well, Alex _did_ apologize, sort of. He seemed better at the battlefield, not nearly angry enough to kill him instantly. Which he usually did when he was very annoyed. And it was always Magnus that got the worst of it.

Frowning, Magnus turned a corner, a few paces away from the café.

Maybe Alex really was trying to make Magnus feel better. It would be very un-Alex like to not tease and taunt him.

He finally arrived at the café, the large oak doors glowing under the soft golden lights. The white prints on the window read CAFÉ 19, VALHALLA’S BEST with a small red coffee cup steaming underneath. Taking a deep breath, he pulled a door open and stepped inside, his head still hanging a little low.

Magnus did a double-take. Sitting at a booth beside the glass on his left, were his best friends, Blitz and Hearth.

 

 

“B-Blitz? Hearth?! What are you doing here?”  Magnus was stuttering. Here, right in front of him, was his literal family. Right after they had gotten back from Loki’s cave, Blitz and Hearth had gotten a distress call from Mimir, the severed head. Ever since then, maybe a good three weeks ago, Magnus hadn’t been able to contact them. It made his after-life a bit more difficult to deal with than usual.

“Hey kid!” Blitz got up, along with Hearth, and embraced Magnus in a long crushing hug. He never really liked physical contact, but when it came to Blitz and Hearth, he didn’t care. They were practically his parents.

They both pulled away, and Hearth began to sign quite quickly, saying how Odin had summoned them, and told them about the quest Alex and Magnus had been given.

“So does that mean, you guys are coming?”

“Yes and no.” Blitz said, eyeing Hearth. Hearth just pursed his lips. _Gateway. We give you transportation._

“Wait so—“ Alex interrupted, his eyes dark. “That’s it? It’s really just us?”

“I guess so, and believe me it pains us to not be with you kids but if Odin commands then we gotta listen.”

“Blitz, I thought you guys took orders from Mimir?” Magnus said, his anxiety beginning to pool up again.

 _Yes. But Odin is All father._ Hearth did the sign for father, a thumb to the forehead, palm forward and his fingers extended. Almost like L for loser. It reminded Magnus too much of the time in Alfheim. He hoped they never had to go back there.

_Terminated service in J-A-N._

“The only thing we can do is help a little bit, but this is officially your quest.” Said Blitz.

And that was it. Magnus really hated his life at the moment. Well, as much as you can hate your re-born afterlife.

“Why don’t we just. Get a cup of coffee and relax? I think coffee would be great.”  Magnus said, already getting up to order an espresso.

Alex grabbed his sleeve. “Get me guava juice.”

“They sell that here?”

“Magnus where do you think we are? Starbucks?” Alex rolled his eyes. “Get the juice.”

“Getting the juice.”

Apparently, they _did_ have guava juice. Of course, it was hotel Valhalla. Though he almost got impaled in the gut with (what looked like, Magnus wasn’t sure.) the nozzle of a milk frother.

When he got back, Hearth was explaining something to Alex, who seemed to be improving in his understanding in ASL. Alfhiem Sign Language.

“Hearth, you can’t. What if you need it?” He said, worry creeping in his voice.

_It’ll be okay. Take care of M._

Hearth glanced at Magnus, a sort of understanding passing through his grey eyes. It made Magnus feel unsettled, like Hearth knew what was going to happen. Which wouldn’t be surprising, since he received his rune-lessons from Odin himself.

And just like that, Blitz and Hearth left the café, probably heading for that laundry shoot exiting into Midgard. Magnus missed those days, when he would sleep under bridges and worry about his next meal, not if he would end up in Helheim by death from… well anything they might encounter on their trip.

Magnus took a seat across from Alex, noticing how he clutched his cup of juice. He was stirring the liquid with the straw, every few seconds stopping and stirring the opposite way. The little umbrella was tossed aside on the table, still dripping the liquid.

After an uncomfortable amount of silence, Alex spoke up.

“Hearth… gave me one of his runes.” Alex slid the wooden rune over, leaving it on the table. _Ehwaz_.

“Transportation… I love that elf.” Magnus said, cracking a small smile. Alex smiled back, shifting slightly as if he was shoving something in his pocket. Maybe it was his imagination, but Magnus swore it was a piece of wood.

After a good while of awkward silence, Alex got up, bringing the juice with him.

“I’m ah, going to go rest. Meet me in the lobby in a few hours.” And with that, he left Magnus to sulk with a very cold, untouched espresso.


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (I'm gonna try a new thing where I'll put down the character's POV in the chap. summary. Like 'Magnus' or 'Alex.)
> 
> Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you'll like this one
> 
> (side note: uuhhhh hey friends, sorry it's been long. Senior year is harder than I thought, but hey! I'm exempt from all my finals so that's pretty cool. I currently have 3 huge projects for gov and english, wish me luck. I'm trying to work on chapters and update this fic as much as I can, so I'm sorry if I make you lot wait for a bit. I get the next week off so hopefully I'll make up for time and story lost.)  
> ((OH AND I CUT MY HAIR QUITE SHORT, UP TO MY COLLARBONE!!!!!! My hair used to be past my waist, so this new look is pretty exciting!))

*   *   *

“Good morning Mags.”

“Don’t call me that. And it’s 7 p.m.”

“Hmm, someone woke up grumpy.”

“I’m not grumpy, I’m just tired.”

“ _Mentiras”_ Alex said, her two-toned eyes dancing with delight in torturing Magnus. Especially when he had just woken up.

“What does that even mean?” Magnus said, feeling quite ashamed for not remembering even _one_ word from his two years of Spanish in junior high. Well, at least he knew it was Spanish.

“Lies.” Alex rolled her eyes.

Rubbing his eyes, Magnus took a deep breath and sighed. Alex punched his arm.

“Hey, no need to feel down. It was just a stupid fight. T.J will get over it.”

“Alex, I’m fine. I know, it was stupid but let me fight my own fights.”

“Nah. Beantown, you need me as much as I need you. Don’t forget that.”

Magnus felt the heat creep into his face, and he was sure Alex noticed. Actually, if anything, Alex was blushing a little too.

“Hey, are you female today?” He asked, desperate to break the growing silence between them. Hotel hallways always made things quieter. Alex slowly turned her head, her eyes boring into Magnus’s.

“Yeah… Yeah I am. How did you…? Never mind.” She said as she slightly shook her head, and flicked her eyes away from Magnus. She looked down at her shoes as they continued to walk.

“C’mon,” She said after another round of silence. “Let’s go defeat some hallmates. I’m in the mood for maiming.”

When was Alex _not_ in the mood for maiming? Magnus swore that she practiced in her free time. She was _way_ too good in the battlefield.

“S-sure.” He said

He followed her down the hall, towards the elevators. If anything, he did not feel like going out there. Everything seemed wrong and out of place. He was kind of irritated and groggy. Everything was an annoyance to him, which was rare. His hallmates certainly didn’t make it any better. For the past week they kept pestering Magnus about having a ‘little school boy crush’, even though he was literally sixteen and he never attended high school. He never got past _middle_ school.

He would deny it, saying him and Alex had absolutely nothing going on between them, and that they were misunderstanding the current events. But, nonetheless, they would shove him into Alex if the opportunity arose, or do things like make ‘kissy faces’ behind Alex if he was sitting across from her in the dining hall, that day. It got very annoying.

But, the thing that really bothered him was when T.J decided to ‘accidentally’ get pushed into Magnus on the battlefield, causing him to try to catch his balance, and instead tripping over Fierro’s feet. Sadly, he brought her down with him, and he landed right on top of her.

“GET OFF, MAGNUS! THE LINDWORM!” She yelled staring him straight in the eyes, a cold light glinting in the dimness of the lindworm’s shadow. A good half-second passed before he realized what had happened. Stuttering, he tried to get up, but a very no-so-subtle foot was in the way. Said foot had hooked into Magnus’s right shin, and pulled his leg out from underneath him. Alex swore quite loudly, as Magnus tried to reach out to stop his fall.

His hand skid on the grass, and he face-planted into Alex’s chest, hitting his nose on her sternum. He swore something broke, maybe his dignity.

“Oh gods, oh gods I’m so sorry!” He said, his face burning _so_ much, and he got up again, thinking about all the ways Alex could kill him right then and there.

“Move!” She wrapped her arms around his waist and threw him across the ground, landing on his arm in a very awkward angle. He heard a snap and blinding pain rippled through his body.

The lindworm stomped down on Alex, crushing her. His hallmates all the took the chance to let all Helheim loose on the worm, cursing and throwing weapons left and right.

Magnus knew that he would _definitely_ destroy T.J later. (He was very certain that T.J had caused everything that happened.) But first, his arm needed healing.

A buzzing feeling went down his arm, but soon after it felt warm and thick. He then remembered that Alex literally got stepped on, and that he should probably go and check on her.

Rushing over, he found her crumpled body laying on the ground. Her right leg was bent at a weird angle, and there were long scratch marks across her ribs. They were pretty deep, and Magnus was very sure the lindworm did that on purpose.

He gripped her shoulder, and waved his hand in front of her eyes.

“Alex?” He said, gently.

She sluggishly rolled her eyes to greet his, her lids half shut. Not a good sign.

She began to cough, some blood sputtering out and landing on Magnus’s shirt. He didn’t care, she was dying.

Groaning, she (very weakly) tried to shove him away from her, but Magnus caught her wrist. He gripped it lightly, and reached out to caress her face.

“Don’t move, you’ll make it worse.”

 “I don’t care. Don’t heal me, I’ll be fine. I’ll resurrect anyways.” She whispered. Her lips were barely moving. 

“I don’t— “she coughed again, and Magnus placed his hand on her chest gently pushing her back down on the ground.

“Stop, don’t heal me.”

“Shut up and let me do my job. You’re a fighter. I won’t let you give up this easily. Besides, I can’t defeat the dragon on my own. Mallory and T.J already died.”

“Okay.” She finally said.

He grasped her leg, and lightly touched his fingertips to the claw marks on her body. She inhaled sharply.

“I’m sorry, it’s the only way to heal you.” He said, feeling quite guilty he had to make her hurt more.

Warmth spread down his fingers into her injured body, and he felt her pain melt away.

Memories flooded into his head, the most prominent being the time she taught him how to shape a pot on the wheel. She demonstrated how to press her fingers lightly into the top to form the lip of the vase. When Magnus tried, he ended up going way too hard and the top of the clay. It thinned into itself, then expanded like a mushroom head. It fell off and Magnus got clay _everywhere._ Meanwhile, Alex was laughing her head off right next to him, her hand gripping his shoulder as she doubled over.

Magnus rubbed clay from his face and neck. When Alex finally finished laughing, she rubbed some clay from his cheek, right by his mouth.

“I actually think you did better than last time.” She murmured, staring down at his lips.

“You think?” He said, blushing quite wildly. Wow, he never thought he could have messed up that badly.

“Yeah….” She trailed off, finally taking her gaze off his face.

The memory ended.

Magnus opened his eyes and saw Alex starting to get up, still kind of weak. He tried to help her, but she slapped his hand away.

“Don’t get into my head.” She said her brows narrowed in frustration.

“I wasn’t—no, look you know it happens when I heal— “

“Just shut it Mags. You went farther, just don’t do it again.”

Magnus pursed his lips, feeling quite bad and very confused. He remembered that day, and he really enjoyed it. Maybe that was why he prodded deeper into the memory. It was more of a subconscious action than purposely. The weird thing, though, was that he felt some kind of bond. Some weird feeling, like a connection to her mind, or something entirely different. It tugged at his conscience, telling him to go down deeper through the memory. Like it wanted him to read her feelings and thoughts.

Even so, he felt guilty.

“I’m sorry.” He said, quietly.

“Whatever.”—

Magnus’s eyes snapped open.

His conscious was brought back into reality, and he slowly realized where he was.

Shaking his head, he turned both ways and sighed quietly. He was back on the train, heading to downtown Chicago to find a raven’s feather.

And Alex Fierro was sitting right next to him, her head reclined on the worn-out seat of the Metra, staring at Magnus. Her right eyebrow was lifted, making her lighter eye brighter and a bit colder.  

“You okay Magnus?”

“Yeah,” he replied, still a little shaken from the flashback. “Yeah I’m okay.”

“Good, because we just arrived in Chicago.”


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus  
> (I realize yet again that I write too many flashbacks???)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahah,,  
> Yeah I'm sorry for not really posting when I said I would. (I just didn't have that much time)  
> But hey here it is!!!  
> Also, if you lot want, follow my main Tumblr: dangerous-burrito  
> and my IG art: milkymacchiato  
> (it's up to you if you want to follow or whatever, I'm not obligating you to.) again thanks for reading this fic!!! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!!! :)

Magnus traveled over to Alex’s room, and was about to knock on his door, until a loud caw broke his eardrum.

He felt blood trickle down his neck, and he furiously wiped it while throwing many colorful insults at the raven.

The raven just stared back at him, no doubt storing the things Magnus was saying for blackmail later. And he was sure these ravens would blackmail him, what with all the malice that shown in their eyes.

“What do you want?” Magnus said, rubbing his neck to hopefully rub away any blood he had left.

 _CAW_ it replied.

“I don’t speak raven.” He said.

The raven swooped down from extinguished torch it was perched on, and landed with precision on Alex’s doorknob. It shuddered a few times, and finally released a feather from somewhere near its wings. It picked it up with it’s beak, and stared straight at Magnus.

And Magnus just stared right back, not very sure of what he should do. He already had enough to deal with, with the quest and all. He was scared that this feather would lead him into more trouble. And he was pretty sure the ravens made you stroke their bodies until the right feather fell out. Which made Magnus even more confused, because this raven was just giving him the feather.

After a few seconds of silence and intimidation, Magnus slowly reached out for the feather, and grabbed it. As soon as he did, the raven took off, flying to wherever Odin’s ravens go.

Magnus examined the feather, admiring the shimmering runes etched along the fibers. They seemed to draw him in, pull him into a trance like state.

He blinked sluggishly, and found himself standing in front of a raised dais, with a fire burning bright in the middle, and a wooden throne. The roof was shaped like a pyramid, except nine sided and made entirely of glass.

Trees surrounded the room, giving Magnus an odd feeling like he had been there before… because he had.

He was standing in the throne room of the goddess Sif, _Bright Crack._ And in front of him were five people, himself included. The raven's feather had brought him to the memory of Sif’s place, right before they were sent off to retrieve the hammer of Thor.

Suddenly, a dim golden light flashed in front of Magnus, bringing him to an entirely different room. The walls were bare white, with some dresses hung around on racks along another raised dais of gold and white. A large mirror was present in front, with a large vanity to accompany it. The mirror had soft white lights around the border, making the white table in front glow quite brightly. All kinds of makeup were organized neatly all around the table, except a few wands of mascara and a curling iron.

On the opposite sides of the dais were double doors thrown open to reveal the biggest walk in closets Magnus had ever seen, and inside each were dozens of women’s clothes, from the brightest yellow to the darkest purple.

What really caught his eye, though, was a wedding dress of gold and white, with intricate snake designs of more gold, along the hem and down the sleeves. It was placed upon a table alongside the wall of one of the closets. It was the wedding dress Alex used, he remembered. The veil was folded neatly above the lace collar. Some jewelry, like the inverted rainbow necklace, was placed on top of the veil. No doubt Sif was an expert in fashion.

The doors behind him flew open, with Sif elegantly walking in, and Alex trailing quite far behind her. Alex seemed to be taking her sweet time, as if they didn’t have to go retrieve a hammer and stop Loki from being let loose. Sif had a pained expression on her face, which meant that Alex was giving her a hard time. But, when didn’t Alex give people a hard time? Goddesses had no exception.

“Alex, please. I just need you to _listen._ ” Sif said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“No, I need _you_ to listen. I don’t need your help to get ready. I’m fine the way I am, and I don’t accept help from _putas_ pretending to care.”

“Alex Fierro.” Sif said dangerously, turning slowly to face Alex. Her dress began to flow in a phantom wind, fast enough to look like a living flame. Her red-gold hair began to lift and swirl around her. Her eyes flashed brighter than coins underwater. Alex _really_ needed to work on keeping her mouth shut.

Alex stood her ground, staring right back at the goddess with equal hatred and fire. Magnus decided then and there that he would never get on Alex’s or Sif’s bad side.

Finally, after a few tense moments, Sif’s Hair finally fell down, and her dress stopped waving around. Alex however, still stood there, with her arms crossed and an angry expression painted on her tan face. Her eyes were brighter than they were before.

“Alex, the world needs you. The world needs to stop Loki and delay Ragnarok."

“I know.” She replied stubbornly. “What a concept.”

“Alex I’m just trying to understand you!” Sif yelled, her porcelain face turning a bright shade of red. It almost matched her dress.

“I don’t _want your help!”_ Alex screamed. “I don’t _need_  your help! I’m fine on my own! I don’t need help from people who can’t even look at my face without an insult to accompany it! I don’t _need_ someone here who ‘claims’ to help me, when they see me as an _it_!”

Sif’s face softened. “I’m-I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Whatever.” Alex replied, turning away from Sif. Her eyes were tinged with red.

“You’re not an it. You’re a hero, just like everyone else who’s waiting out in the atrium. We—I need you Alex. My husband, his hammer is missing and the only way to retrieve it is to trick the earth giants with this fake marriage. Please. I’m sorry.”

Magnus didn’t know what surprised him more. The fact that Sif admitted that she actually needed help from mortals or that she was apologizing to Alex.

“Okay. Okay I’ll— “Alex took a deep breath. “I’m a person, and I think I deserve more respect. I’m female, and I’m staying female until I say otherwise.”

“That’s fine by me. But please try to understand that I _do_ care Alex. I’m not as fussy and uptight as you think.”

Alex’s shoulders slumped, and she quickly rubbed a tear away from her eye.

“I know your family history is rocky,” Sif sighed. “But not all mothers are the same.” She extended her arms, a beckoning hug.

Alex just stared at her. “What do you know about my family? You didn’t go through the same things I did.” Her voice started to waver. “You don’t—fuck.” More tears spilled from her eyes.

“You’re still young. Kids your age shouldn’t go through that alone. Come here.” She said softly.

Alex slowly stepped towards Sif, and rested her head on her chest. Sif began to stroke her hair lightly, and she held on to Alex tightly. Alex sniffled.

“Don’t mention this to the others.” She said, her voice muffled by the folds in Sif’s dress.

“I won’t.” She said.

After a few silent moments, Alex pulled away and wiped her eyes.  

“Let’s go clean you up. You’ve got a wedding to attend.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, but don’t cake my face with too much makeup.”

“Don’t worry,” Sif chuckled. “I’ll make you look amazing.”

Another golden flash, and Magnus was still in the same place he was before, except now Alex was in her wedding dress, her hair in ringlets, and light mascara on her eyes.

In other words, she looked _amazing._

“Alex, before you go, there’s one thing I need to give you.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Come, walk with me.”

They both walked over to the elevator.

“Do you believe in soulmates, Alex?”

“Uh, no I guess?”

“And why is that?”

“I mean it’s not like everyone stays together. If soulmates existed, then everyone would have one. And they would leave one another.”

“Well, what if I told you that not everyone has a soulmate, but the bond existed?”

“Can you stop being vague and just tell me what’s going on?” Alex said, her left eyebrow arching.

“Let’s say that Freya has a big part to play in this…” Sif looked wistfully towards the ceiling, as if she was reliving an important part of her immortal life.

“So, are you trying to warn me, tell me about something?”

“A bond can only exist with time in between. Pairs of the soul are unbreakable, and you, dear Alex, have been tangled in one of Freya’s games of love and loyalty. But know this: Freya might be capable of manipulating attraction and blind others with hopeless romance.” Sif scowled.

“But in the end, she _did_ give mortals freedom of pure love. Some… Some with godly heritages end up with more to deal with, than just innocent love. It’s the power that runs through our veins. It churns and tugs and whispers things into our souls. In the end, Alex, the power we contain, and the power of love mix together to create bonds that not even us, the gods can break.”

“What I’m trying to say,” Sif continued. “Is that not every deity and demigod is chosen to carry such a bond. It’s up to fate and whether the power within ourselves decides to weave itself into two souls. It’s not something we can change.”

“So, you’re trying to tell me that, me? I have a soulmate?” Alex exhaled. “That’s crazy. That’s not possible, why would it happen now?”

“Hush, Alex. All will come in due time. Like I said, a bond can only exist with time in between, with pairs of the soul unbreakable. I’m telling you now that you’re close, and sometimes life can play games with our bonds. Don’t let it get to you; when time comes, you need only to focus on that little bond.”

“Thanks for the specific advice.” Alex rolled her eyes. The mascara did wonders to make them pop out.

"Take this, the time will come when this will reveal it's secrets to you." Sif opened her closed fist to reveal a twig. Magnus assumed it was from a rowan tree. 

Alex gingerly touched the twig, only for it to disappear in thin air. 

"Where did it?-"

“And it looks like we’re here! Let’s see how our audience beholds my marvelous work.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Alex and Sif stepped out, and walked towards the atrium. And standing there, with a donut in his hand was Magnus himself. The other Magnus, the memory one, had his recently cropped hair sticking up in tufts. That, he could blame himself for; not used to the feeling of shorter hair made him run his hands through it constantly.

His mouth was slightly parted, in awe from seeing Alex all fixed up. His face flushed a bit red, and he began to fiddle with his shirt. Gods, he never realized how embarrassing he was.

“Magnus, can you please stop staring at me as if I’m going to murder you?”

“I wasn’t—”

“Because if you don’t, I _will_ murder you.”

“Right.” Memory Magnus tried to shift his focus somewhere else.

And in a blink, Magnus was back in reality, sprawled across the floor still in front of Alex’s door.

“Hey Maggie. Care to tell me why exactly you’re sleeping in front of my door? I always knew you were a creep, but I didn’t think you’d take it this far.”

“Alex, no—”

“Save it, we have a plane to catch. You’re late, and I was about to go and get you.”

“Wait, you said plane?” Magnus began to rise, but Alex thrust out her hand first. He grabbed it, and felt a small spark erupt from the touch. It confused him, but he brushed it off as nothing. It could have been static electricity or something.

But for a second, he swore he saw Alex’s eyes widen, just a bit.

“Yes, plane. You think we can just walk on over to Chicago?”

“Well, no—”

“Okay then. Plane.”

“Right.”

Alex tugged him along the hallways and down the elevator to the stables area. She walked up to the nearest eight-legged horse and soothed it, beckoning Magnus to come forward.

“Hurry up Magnus we have to _go.”_

He rushed over, and waited until Alex mounted herself. Bringing himself up, he hesitated with his arms. He wasn’t sure if he should hold onto her, or if he should just pray that he wouldn’t fall off.

Alex grabbed his arms, and pulled them around her waist.

“Seriously Beantown? This again? I’m not going to hurt you.”

Gulping, Magnus said “Y-Yeah.”

Alex rolled her eyes, and faced forward. In an instant, they shot off towards the Boston airport.

The sun was barely touching the horizon as they flew through the sky. The reds and pinks made Alex’s hair look more brown than green, which Magnus thought looked good on her. Golden rays of the dying sun cast a highlight on the side of her head. It reminded Magnus of her eyes, one bright golden and the other the darkest brown. They always pulled him in, and something inside of his body seemed to lull him into some kind of trance. Gazing into her eyes felt exposing, and raw. But, strangely it also felt comforting, like he was home.

Shaking his head, he silently scolded himself for losing his train of thought. He was supposed to be thinking of ways to survive this quest, not getting mesmerized by Alex’s eyes.

The horse began to bank right, and they were losing altitude pretty quick. Magnus was never a fan of flying, so he began to feel sick and faint. He clutched Alex’s sweater vest, wondering all the ways she would kill him later.

Finally, they landed in a vacant parking space near the entrance of the airport. Magnus slid off first, sending up a prayer of relief.

“Magnus we have to _go.”_ Alex said, sounding more and more exasperated by the minute.

“Alex, what’s going on? You’re barely off the horse yet, and you’re telling me that we have to ‘hurry’ up.”

“I’ll explain later, but right now we need to get to our terminal.”

She grabbed his arm, way more tight than she did back at the hotel. They entered the airport, and all the air left Magnus’s lungs. It was bigger than he remembered, and probably impossible to navigate in the time Alex wanted.

“ _Santa Maria_ ,” Alex whispered. “Okay, we can work with this, let’s find security.”


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI UH  
> its been three weeks and I'm the WORST person ever! imSORRY  
> yeah i get three extra days of winter break bc I AM EXEMPT FROM ALL MY FINALS  
> sorry if my writing is getting crappier i've been busy and the inspiration to write had failed me a few times ops.  
> enjoy this.   
> Tumblr: dangerous-burrito

The only thing Magnus could remember about the airport was that security didn’t let you slip that easily. Everything was so thorough, you couldn’t even blink without someone assuming you were carrying an illegal weapon or substance.

At one point, Alex had been stopped twice by some security guards. Within the span of about 6 minutes. And Magnus knew it was only because of her skin color. And it honestly infuriated him. Well, in her case, Alex probably would try to sneak something like scissors or hand sanitizer because, it’s Alex. It would only be out of spite. It was kind of funny, and it lifted Magnus’s spirits, imagining flight attendants faces when Alex would flaunt her ‘forbidden from planes’ items.

“C’mon Magnus let’s hurry up, I don’t want to be stopped again.” She said, her face a little red, most likely from anger and embarrassment. He knew how awkward it was to be patted down all over your body in front of people. Especially if you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to be touched.

“Those idiots just love to mess with people.” Magnus said, hoping to bring her spirits up. He decided that he didn’t want to ride a plane with an angry friend. It would be very lonely and most likely awkward.

“Yeah, I know.” And that’s all she said. She continued to move along, picking up her pace and walking ahead of Magnus. Despite her petite structure, she sure had strong legs. He assumed that if she ever tried for track at Valhalla, (yes, they had track and field to the death, what did you expect?) she would definitely be in the top tier.

“Uh, Alex, where are we going?” Magnus asked after a good few minutes. He obviously didn’t know the airport that well, but with the way Alex was ‘guiding’ them, she had to have at least some clue of how it worked, and where things were.

She stopped abruptly. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him along the other way, shoving them through crowds of people. Her head hang a little low, most likely from realizing that they were going the wrong way.

Finally, they stopped near a terminal marked _B._ Surrounding them were fast food restaurants and coffee shops. Magnus felt his stomach rumble.

“In here.” She hissed. She tugged him into a corner near the restrooms of McDonald’s, by a door painted the same color as the walls. A bluish-grey, which gave Magnus a little anxiety. He never liked the color blue, and for some reason (at times) it gave him anxiety.

Alex let go of his arm, and quickly scoped the area around them.

“Alex, what--”

“Shut up and listen very carefully.”

“Uh?”

She grabbed the doorknob, twisting it so hard it nearly popped off. The door swung open, and Alex pulled them both inside. She quickly shut the door, leaving only silence and darkness. Magnus assumed they were inside a janitor’s closet, due to the faint scent of a citrusy cleanser.

“Alex seriously what is going on?” Magnus asked, running his hands through his hair. He soon came to the conclusion that he did have a nervous tick, where he would run his hands through his hair. No wonder it was always messy.

“Loki, that’s what.” She whispered harshly. “I felt him.”

The air felt tight in Magnus’s lungs. He let out a small nervous laugh.

“Wh—What?”

“Shut up!”

Alex was dangerously close to Magnus, he could feel the soft breaths that she let out on his collarbone. The hair on the top of her head tickled his nose and chin. He could feel the heat of her body on his own. Magnus knew that his heart was racing a million miles per hour, and maybe she could feel it.

“Magnus listen, we really can’t be too conspicuous. Now that Loki can physically manifest himself into any world he wants… he could seriously do something. If he sees us…”

“Yeah.” Magnus’s voice was barely a breath. He was scared that if he spoke too loud, his voice would either be so high pitched, they’d reveal their hiding place, or it would crack so bad he would die from embarrassment. Neither of which he preferred.

Magnus felt faint, actually. The world became dizzy, and his vision blurred quite a bit.

“Magnus!” Alex hissed.

He slumped suddenly, though he was still conscience. Alex immediately broke his fall, hauling him up in her arms. The world was still dark, but then another presence filled his mind.

“Hmm, Magnus? Hi is that you?” Came a familiar voice.

Magnus tried to speak, but it felt like his throat was constricted. he began to see double vision, some overlapping bright light and the darkness of the room.

“Great! Okay listen, so you should already know who it is. It’s a little hard to maintain connection, even though I’m not stuck under the cold hardened bonds of my children’s intestines.” A face appeared, right in front of Alex’s. The shimmering face of Loki, her father and possibly the worst being in existence.

“I wanted to let you know, that by going on this quest you will certainly die. I thought that if I personally came to deliver this message, you’d learn to stay away from Chicago and the _specific items_ that bastard Odin is looking for.”

Magnus didn’t know what to do, it wasn’t like he could respond. It was like every fiber of his being was weakening by the second.

“Wow awesome chat. Guess I’ll see you soon when I destroy you and all the gods! Oh! But remember this: if you do succeed in Chicago, I promise your mother would be horrified to see you in the darkest pits of Helheim. Good luck. Actually, I don’t think you’ll need it, you and Alex will certainly fail.” With that, Loki’s mouth curled into a sly smile, one identical to Alex’s. The golden image vanished, leaving Magnus to ‘awake’ in Alex’s arms.

He blinked a few times, attempting to lift his arm enough to rub his eyes. Alex was cradling his body against her, her face painted with worry. Magnus was glowing, again, but this time it wasn’t his usual golden ‘post-heal’ glow. It was more green and eerie, and faint.

“I’m okay.” he rasped.

“You look like hell.” She replied. But her face soon relaxed, and she looked up towards the door. That was Alex’s way of showing relief without speaking.

“I’m so damn tired of him.” She said, helping Magnus up.

“Yeah, it was Loki.” Magnus mumbled, rubbing his head.

“You sure you’re good?” She asked.

In truth, Magnus felt like crap. His arms felt like lead, and his head felt fuzzy. They hadn’t even left Boston yet, and he already got a death threat. From the one god he absolutely despised the most. Wonderful.

“I’ll be okay.” He said.

“And what does your ‘okay’ mean?”

“I won’t die in your arms, and certainly not from Loki.”

 Magnus had always been warned about the dangers of saying names. Names had power and blah blah blah.

In his opinion, the more you used it, the more worn out they would become. The ‘power’ would be reduced to nothing. That’s why he was never afraid to call out gods, especially Loki.

“We need to go.” Alex hissed. She grabbed his arm and swung the door open, scanning the area for anything ‘suspicious’.

Magnus wanted to know what happened to caring and concerned Alex a few moments ago.

His head swimming, he kept stumbling while Alex pulled him along. The passengers at their terminal had already begun to line up with their tickets. They had made it just in time.

“Alright. Great here we go.” Alex said. Magnus wondered if she liked flying. He knew she enjoyed the few times they would take the flying horses, so maybe airplanes weren’t any different for her.

In that aspect, it wasn’t hard to see how her and Samirah were siblings. They both enjoyed flying.

“I need to sit down.” He said at last, finally walking down to the plane.

Once inside, Alex rushed over to the window seat and threw her bag down.

“Sorry beantown, this seat is reserved for pretty people only.”

“Wow, that was actually the rudest thing I’ve ever been told. And I’ve known you for how long?”

She laughed.

“Like three months now. Crazy right?”

“Yeah.” His head began to pound. It began to scare him; was Loki somehow channeling power slowly enough to kill him? Did he really not want him on this quest that bad?

He leaned himself back, relaxing until take off.

“Excuse me, sir?” came a voice in front of him.

Magnus groggily opened his eyes. A flight attendant was standing in front of him, and behind her was a security guard.

“What’s going on?” Asked Alex quite defensively. She had seemed to be enjoying looking out the window.

“We’re going to need you to come with us.” The flight attendants name tag read “Cheryl”.

“Why?” Alex asked, but this time louder.

“Certain allegations, and if you resist we will force you off this plane by any means necessary.”


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTERS ONE DAY??????????????????????????? yeah they're short im so sorry I had lots of school stuff and I really never had the energy to write these after I finished my homework BUT HERE THEY ARE  
> also, finally starting my job at Dunkin, wish me luck!  
> yikes my characters are falling apart and everything is OOC OOPS!!!!!!!!!! Alex likes to swear a lot fyi :)  
> enjoy this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> Tumblr: dangerous-burrito

“We believe your… um…”

Alex quickly cleared her throat. “Boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend… Yes, we believe your boyfriend is under the influence, and that you two are under the legal age to travel alone within the US.”

Boyfriend? Did she really have to use boyfriend?

Cousin would have worked, or brother. Or friend. Seriously, boyfriend.

“Take a good look at him and tell me straight to my face lady, that he’s ‘under the influence’.” Alex jabbed her finger at the flight attendant.

They had gotten up from their seats and were escorted off the plane, back into the terminal. The security guard led them towards a small room far from the plane, and Magnus assumed they might be there a while. And most likely miss the plane.

Which was totally okay, because failing this quest meant immediate termination of the whole ‘hero’ title at Valhalla. And certain death in Ginnungagap.

“I’m sorry but we might need to call your parents.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“And why not? I don’t recall seeing you with passports when you entered the plane. And your boyfriend certainly looks very drunk. He’s not even paying attention.”

“Magnus.” Alex snapped her fingers in his face. “Pay attention. I’m sorry, he has a very short attention span.”

Alex gave him a hard glare.

“Right, I’m sorry.” He said slowly. No wonder they thought he was intoxicated.

“Okay well, we’re going to need you to stand up.”

“What for?” Magnus asked. Alex quickly pinched his thigh.

Magnus bit back a very high-pitched screech, which would of made the security guards think he was under the influence of not only alcohol but drugs too.

 _Just do it beantown._ Her eyes read.

 _Fine._ He stared back.

He got up, and the security guard explained that he should walk in a straight line towards her.

“Okay.” He said, and began to walk in a straight line. Surprisingly, the more he concentrated on walking in a straight line, the more anxious he got about it. Like, what if he wasn’t walking correctly? What if he was really wobbly, and the security guard arrested him?

“Look at my right ear.” The guard shined a bright light in Magnus’s eyes, checking to see if his pupils were dilated.

His mind sort of went blank, and he forgot what was going on. The world seemed to split beneath him, and his breathing gradually became labored. He started to panic, he realized. His heart was beating at a thousand miles per hour.

“Magnus?” Alex’s voice rung in the distance. Even his hearing was a bit muffled.

“Are you okay? Hey! Look at me.”

He quickly put a hand on his heart, clutching his shirt trying so hard to control his breathing. He felt like the world was spinning and spinning and spinning.

“STOP!” He heard Alex yell. He was vaguely aware of the security guards in front of him pulling out their guns.

“HE’S HAVING A PANIC ATTACK YOU IDIOTS!” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Alex lunge to grab him, but the other security guard in the room pulled her back, nearly slamming her into the wall. All Magnus could do was stare at the ground, trying his hardest to not let his legs give out.

His stupid legs kept wobbling, and he felt weaker and weaker. He knew this quest would lead to no good, he _knew_ this quest would end horribly.

Loki was right.

“Hold him down, call a hospital. He may be under the influence of LSD.”

Magnus became vaguely aware of the people around him, and he hit the ground. All the voices morphed together, and became distant. He couldn’t find Alex. He kept looking around, and she wasn’t anywhere near him.

Everything went silent after that. Like the world stopped spinning, and he was the only one left conscious.

“Look at me, Beantown.” Said a warm voice.

“Alex?”

“Who else?” She said, lightly flicking his arm.

“Are we still at the airport?”

“I actually… don’t know. One second I changed to a German shepherd, and the next I’m here with you. In… some kind of… cave?”

“Cave?” He repeated, blinking a few times.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. Because you’re okay. You’re scaring me lately Magnus. You keep having visions and blackouts. And back there, you had a panic attack, and they wouldn’t let me go…” She wrapped her arms around him.

“I used to go through them all the time, and nobody was there to help me. When I saw you like that, something inside me broke. I felt hurt and scared and anxious. I felt like I was going crazy and that I needed to save you.”

Magnus didn’t really know what to say. They were stuck in a cave in who knows which world, and he still felt like the world was crashing down on him.

Hugging her back, he felt warmth radiate from her body.

“What will it take for you to stop glowing?” She piped up, as she released Magnus’s weak body. This time, his glow was the usual gold.

“I’m healing. Back at the airport, when I uh… fell on my knees, I inflamed an old injured tendon.

“Cool. Let’s get out of here, I feel like I’m suffocating.”

“Okay.”

He got up, and followed Alex around the circumference of the cave. He began to run his finger along the walls, looking for any weak spots to collapse.

“Here.” Alex’s voice ran out. She was on the opposite side on the cave, so Magnus jogged towards her.

“Move back.”

“Why?”

“Shut up.”

Alex shifted into what looked like mole? It was tiny, and Magnus’s glow began to dissipate, so he could hardly see anymore.

He heard her little claws scuttle along the floor, towards the wall. After a few seconds of dirt shifting, everything went back to being silent.

Then, the wall collapsed, and Alex was standing on the other side, sunlight pooling from cracks above her. It gave her a nice spotlight.

The only problem was that she was frowning, with her arms crossed and her lips slightly pursed.

“What’s wrong? You look like an angel of frowny faces.” Magnus said with a sudden burst of courage.

“Call me angel again, and you won’t have a tongue to speak with anymore, _pendejo jodiado._ ” Magnus just looked astounded.

Her frown deepened. “We have a real problem here.”


	9. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO YOU LOT!!  
> so I finally started my job at Dunkin and honestly I love it SO MUCH I am so happy!  
> The only thing is that I'm getting scheduled quite a bit so i'm not sure how often I can work on this during my winter break. I'll try as much as I can!!!  
> ANYWAYS HERE'S A CHAPTER!!! spoiler, I lov Inge!!!!!!  
> ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!! kudos and comments are very much appreciated!  
> take a look at my twitter if you want: SteamiestLatte

“I don’t understand,” Magnus said, walking over to Alex. “What’s the problem?”

Alex kicked some dirt in his direction. “ _That._ ”

She pointed upwards, towards the sky. Magnus moved closer, trying to shield his eyes from the unusually bright sunlight.

Which he found kind of suspicious. Now that he looked back at Alex, he could see the little imperfections her face had, especially a tiny white scar that ran along her right cheekbone. It was kind of faded, but it was still there. It kept ringing out to Magnus, like _here I am, a flaw! Look at me!_

Of course, know he knew where they were.

“Yeah, Alfheim.” Alex said, beginning to step out of the manhole she dug. Magnus had no idea how an animal that was smaller than 6 inches, could dig a hole that size in a matter of seconds.

“Wait,” he said after two blank seconds. “I never said anything.”

“What are you talking about?” Alex replied, lending a hand to Magnus. She pulled him up, and he stumbled across the grass. The balance in Alfheim was just _so off_. Magnus felt like he was on the moon.

“Back in the cave, like a few minutes ago. You said ‘yeah, Alfheim’. I never said anything to you, or out loud in that matter.”

“Uh, Maggie? Are you sure you’re not screwed up in the head? Maybe we should take you to an Alfheim hospital.”

“Alex, I’m not lying.”

“Magnus, I heard your voice. Like clear as day. You said ‘Alfheim.’”

“I didn’t open my mouth.”

“I heard you saying it.”

“Okay, whatever.” Magnus said, clenching his jaw. “We need to try to find a way out of here. I know a place, but it’s going to be tricky getting there.”

“Cow abducting alien man?”

“Yeah.”

Magnus was surprised that Alex had remembered the encounters he had in Alfheim. They had exchanged stories one day at dinner, and at that time, Alex seemed to not be paying attention. Now, he realized, that she did listen to him.

Alex walked up to him, and lightly touched her hand on his shoulder.

A sudden spark of energy emitted the moment her fingertips grazed his shoulder, very small, but bright and blue.

“What was that?” She asked, quickly releasing the light grip she had.

“I don’t know…” Magnus said, staring intently at his shoulder. That had never happened before. Or did it?

The time they were back at the hotel, actually. Alex helped him up from the floor, and he felt some kind of spark, like static electricity. But he never _saw_ anything come out of it.

“Okay, weird. You have some awesome lightning powers now. You and Jason Grace should fight.” Magnus _also_ didn’t realize that Annabeth had told Alex about her demigod friends, too.

“Oh my gods stop trying to make me fight people! You know I’ll lose.”

“That’s the point. You’re so pathetic and horrible at any form of combat, that you’ll lose the instant your opponent _looks_ at you.”

“I’m... wow that was awful. Thanks for bringing up my self-esteem.”

“Anytime.” Alex giggled, causing Magnus to laugh too. Even though Alex’s mood shifted sometimes, he knew she didn’t mean any harm. Or, well he assumed that most of the time she didn’t mean anything in a hard offense.

But it felt good to have someone to joke around with. Back in the old days, he had Blitz and Hearth to fool around with. It was fun, but sometimes he thought of them more as parental figures. Or just people who were there to keep him company and fill the void in his life.

Don’t get him wrong. He loved them so much. They always looked out for him, and stuck by him in his hardest times. They were part of an extended family he never knew he would one day gain.

But something about Alex made him _really_ think.

All the times they hung out, all the times they would talk and goof around. Or even the times they sat together during lunch breaks and dinner. Even breakfast, which was something that Alex would rarely make time for. During those times, a comfortable silence would hang around them, and all awkwardness would fade away.

Or, even the times Floor 19 would hang out, maybe going to the Hotel Valhalla Outdoor Mall (Of Death). And doing extreme crazy sports. He and Alex would always tag-team, and occasionally, they would win. They worked together in such a way he couldn’t describe. Whenever they were together, he was able to concentrate better.

Ever since Alex came along, Magnus realized that his life was brighter, and better. Alex made him feel… Well, he wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Everything felt mixed and crazy. It was swarming inside him, and he didn’t know how to stop it. He really liked Alex, and he liked having her with him.

And that’s when it hit him.

Alex felt like home.

_Alex felt like home._

His mind felt blank.

_This is what home feels like._

It was a warm fuzzy feeling. It was like the times she would teach him how to create pottery, and see how frustrated she would get when he messed something up. Which was often.

It was when he would sometimes gaze at her while she was working on clay. The look of pure concentration and determination in her eyes, and the way her fingers worked on the shape of whatever she was making. He loved watching her do it, to see her sculpt beautiful and delicate pottery, in so little time.

It was a gift that he admired so much, because whenever she was in her own little world with her pottery wheel and clay, she looked so much happier. He could literally feel her stress melt away. As if his own stress melted away, too.

He loved to see her doing something that meant so much to her. It made him see it so differently, and it made him feel _good._

“Hey Mac n’ Cheese. What’s wrong?” Alex said, breaking his train of thought. They had covered a bit of distance, already deep inside the forest by Hearth’s old house, _House Alderman._

“What? What kind of nickname is that?” Magnus replied instantaneously.

“It suits you. Your hair and just,” She flailed her hands around. “Your aura I guess. It just screams Mac n’ Cheese. Also, it rhymes with Magnus Chase.”

“That is the…” Magnus started laughing. “The _worst_ reasoning you’ve ever come up with.”

Alex was laughing now, too.

“Shut up, I’m the best at this.” She said finally, after almost doubling over and clutching her stomach.

“No, I don’t think so. I think Mallory is better.”

“Okay, we’ll bet on this. We’ll let Mallory hear this new nickname, and if she can’t come up with something better, then you owe me big time.” She said, a wide smile lighting her face up.

“Uh, like what?” He said, poking her arm.

She looked him dead in the eye. “Money.”

“Alex, _I’m broke._ ”

“I’ve seen the stash you keep with you.”

“That’s impossible.”

“But you admit it!”

Magnus’s jaw dropped a little _._ Of course, Alex tricked him into telling her he was carrying his small stash of cash.

“Remember, nothing is impossible for me, Mango Chase.”

“Okay let’s just stop with the awful nicknames and try to find some place to rest and not burn up. I think my retinas are fried.”

“That’s because you suck, and you don’t come prepared.” Alex said, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. “Here.” She handed them to him.

“Why are you not complaining?”

“It’s called ‘shape-shifting’.”

“That’s unfair. All I can do is wield a talking sword.”

“Which is cool, I give you kudos. It’s not easy dealing with a talking sword.”

“Oh no, don’t let him hear you. He might get offended.”

“Oh!” Alex gasped. “I’m _so_ sorry.” Every word was dripping with sarcasm.

“Whatcha sorry for?” Another voice popped into existence.

The pendent around Magnus’s neck began to pull, enough to make him stumble forward. He quickly latched onto Alex’s shoulders, nearly whacking his head on hers.

“Wow, I am so sorry.” He said, exasperated; he refused to make eye contact. He pulled the rune-stone pendant back, but Jack was too excited. He slipped from Magnus’s grasp, and formed into a sword.

“Hi Jack.” Alex said. “How are you?”

“Hola _señora_! I’m doing _fabulous_ , thank you. So, what’s the buzz? The get-go? the—“

“Okay Jack,” Magnus glared daggers at Alex. She shrugged back, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “We’re on a quest.”

“From the big dude himself: Odin.” Jack’s runes pulsed in a multicolored rainbow.

“Yes—why are you even asking if you already know?”

“It’s called being _polite_ , you dingus.” Alex said from behind Jack.

“Well, I guess you could put it that way.” Jack responded.

“I can’t believe this.” Magnus threw his hands up in the air. “I’m being insulted by my best friend and talking sword. When will it stop?”

“Best friend?” Alex said, her mood suddenly shifting from sly and joking to complete seriousness.

“Oh, uh yeah.” Magnus shifted on his feet, and pushed a hand through his hair roughly. “I thought, you know since we hang out a lot and stuff, maybe we would be considered best friends? Or like very close friends, or—“

“I get it! Oh my gods you’re so stupid!” She said, a wide grin spreading on her face. “I was kidding. Of course, we’re best friends.”

“Oh right, it’s just that you looked really upset... and stuff.”

The smile slowly died from her face. “Magnus I’ve only known you for like maybe two months, but out of all the people I’ve ever met, you treated me like a real person.”

“I— I don’t know,” She continued. “I just feel like from the moment I met you, you were destined to be my best friend or something. Oh gods this is so cheesy. I’m sorry, I’m rambling.” Alex began to quicken her pace, leaving Magnus a bit behind her. Thankfully, Jack didn’t say anything.

“Alex, wait.” Magnus said, attempting to grab her hand. He then decided that maybe touching her while she felt a bit vulnerable would result in his head being chopped off quicker than you could say _Valhalla_.

She turned her head. “What?”

He gulped. “This is gonna sound cheesy too, but I like being around you. Meeting you, and just... just being with you makes me feel good.” Magnus felt like he was choking out every word. But in a good way; he didn’t want to make Alex upset.

“You do?” She said, disbelief painted across her face. Her eyes seemed to bore into his own.

“Yeah. I do.”

Thick silence lay around them, but the awkwardness seemed to be at bay.

He felt like this silence was filled more with tension. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was something entirely different. In a way, he kind of liked it.

“Hey,” whispered Alex. “Is this the place?”

They had stopped near a well.

“Yes.” he whispered back.

“Why are we whispering?” Jack’s point suddenly appeared in between him and Alex, causing Magnus to stumble backwards. Jack had startled him pretty well.

“Gods Jack, you gave me a heart attack!” Magnus said taking deep breaths.

“Yikes. Way to ruin the moment. Me and Magnus here we’re talking about our deep friendship.” She wriggled her fingers in front of her face. “And you nearly cut my fingers off.”

“Oh, sorry _señora_.” He said, flinging himself backwards. “All I wanted to say was that if you were looking for an exit, this would be the best place to leave. The worlds are the weakest right here.”

“Right.” Magnus said, looking anywhere _but_ Alex’s face. He felt embarrassed saying all those things. He couldn’t imagine what Alex must of thought when she heard him spew a bunch of friendship crap.

“Magnus. Hello, Alfheim to Magnus!” Alex yelled, waving her hand in his face. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. Just... thinking.”

“About?”

“The time me and Hearth came here. The first time I visited. Blitz had been turned to stone, and we needed to grab the skofnung stone.”

“Oh yeah that ugly rock. I remember.”

“Yeah, and that ugly rock saved my other best friend.” He said.

He felt bad, because he really wanted to say some more things to Alex, and hopefully she would understand. He wanted to explain all the feelings he had churning inside him. Maybe she felt the same things, and they could work through it together.

That was the thing about him; that he was the worst at explaining himself. The words he wished he could use never came out right. Nothing ever sat well with him. He always thought that he was a better writer than speaker. And he sure wished he could just go back to his room in the hotel and write about all the crazy things going on in his mind.

And he desperately wished he could talk to his mom. The woods in Alfheim gave him a sense of enclosure, but at the same time it gave him peace. The greenery and life sprouting at his feet made him feel more alive and aware. And he knew his mom would have loved the woods he was in at the moment. And he knew she would’ve fell in love with the hulders.

Inge. Now he remembered her name. He knew he met a hulder a bit ago when he first traveled to Alfheim. For some reason, while he was too busy thinking about Alex, Inge’s name had escaped his mind. He felt bad about it, especially because she helped them escape. And she was one of the only beings in the world that had treated him and Hearth with caring and kindness. He missed Inge, too.

“Magnus?”

It was like he could still hear her.

_“Magnus!”_

Magnus turned around. Standing there, was Inge herself. Her bonnet was gone, and her old white cleaning attire was replaced with a green and blue sun dress. Her blonde hair was delicately plated along her head, dropping down loosely, barely passing her shoulders.

“Magnus, what are you _doing_ here!” Inge said, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

“I uh… I mean Odin—”

“Come, follow me and hurry! It’s a miracle Master—” Inge cut herself off. “Sorry, _Mister_ Alderman, hasn’t sensed you three yet.”

“Sensed? What happened to him anyways, Inge?”

Her face blanched. Her tail flicked twice behind her.

“A tail!” Alex said, taken by surprise.

“Alex!” Magnus turned his head, giving her a harsh stare. “Don’t be rude!”

In a way, Magnus was being quite hypocritical, since he had also been surprised to see Inge with a tail the first time he met her.

“Oh no, it’s okay! I’m a _hulder_ , forest sprites. We are required to show our tails at all times, lest we be persecuted for ‘attempting to impersonate an elf’.”

“What kind of twisted society are you living in?” Alex said, her eyebrows quickly narrowing. “I know ours is bad… but this?”

“It’s okay, at least we still have our homes.” Inge said, looking back at the forest. She had a wistful look in her eyes.

“But, that’s not the point. To answer your question Magnus, it’s um…” She swallowed. “It’s best we not talk about it. Or, at least not here. Please follow me, and hurry!”

She quickly swiveled, and began to speed down the forest path. Her cow tail swished every time she took a step.

“Wait, Inge!” He called out, jogging towards her. Alex and Jack trailed behind him.

She turned around. “Yes?”

“Where are we even going?”

“Oh, right!” She smiled. “I believe it’s time you see where we forest sprites live.”


	10. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is a little short, I've been a bit busy.  
> School starts again for me on monday!!!! EXCITED BC I GRADUATE IN 5 MONTHS!!!!!  
> ((WHY DO MY CHARACTERS FEEL SO O O C ))  
> pls enjoy

Magnus and Alex began to follow Inge along the forest path, Magnus occasionally tripping over tree roots.

“Seriously Beantown? Again?” Alex said, while gripping his arm. He had tripped over another root, this time nearly bringing Alex down with him. He grabbed her shoulder, but she was quicker.

“I’m sorry.” Magnus mumbled, a little flustered that Alex had to catch him before he fell to his impending doom on a forest floor.

“Inge, how much longer? I don’t think Magnus’s poor ankles can take much longer.”

“Hey! They’re not that bad.”

“Magnus, this is the third time I catch you. Rethink that statement, thanks.”

Inge started laughing, soft and fairy like.

“What?” Alex said, raising an eyebrow at her. Magnus debated questioning her as well, but he felt like Alex spoke for both of them.

“Nothing,” she said, a wide smile still on her face. “Just that the two of you sound like an old bickering couple.”

Now it was Magnus’s turn to speak up.

“What?” His brows knitted upwards.

Alex started laughing. “That’s funny.”

Inge frowned. “Wait, you two aren’t…?”

“NO! of course not. We could never—it’s just that…” Magnus faltered with his words. He really didn’t know what to say, other than ‘no’. It wasn’t like he _liked_ Alex in that way. They were just sent on a quest for a crazy god named Odin. Over something probably useless to him.

He hadn’t realized that Alex was side-eyeing him, a brow raised and her mouth slowly pinching shut. She quickly flicked her eyes towards the ground once Magnus turned to look at her.

“Oh, well. That’s a shame.” Inge was now biting the inside of her cheek, looking as if she was trying not to smile. Like she knew something Magnus didn’t.

“Either way, that’s not very relevant right now. We’re here.” Inge lead them down a more condensed path of the forest, finally stopping by the largest tree Magnus had ever seen. And he hiked constantly.

The branches grew downwards, the leaves fluttering in the wind like wings. The trunk itself could reach across Longfellow Bridge. Magnus had to crane his neck to be able to locate the top, but even then, the canopy was obscured by bright sunlight and more branches.

The most unique thing, though, was that the entire tree was gold. Top (Magnus assumed) to bottom. The leaves glinted in the harsh sunlight like diamonds. The trunk looked like all the gold in Midgard was melted, then engraved with the natural details. If that were the case, then it would have taken years to create it.

To sum it up, it was the most beautiful thing Magnus had ever seen. He just didn’t know how to express it.

“How?” Magnus said, his mouth hanging open. He glanced over to Alex, who also had her face in an awestruck expression.

“Weeping Willow.” She said, not taking her eyes off the tree.

“Yes.” Inge replied, her tail flicking again, behind her. “From your father, Magnus.”

“Frey created this?” He said, feeling like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.

Of course, his dad created this. Frey was the patron god of Alfheim. This world radiated pure light and warmth and everything ‘ _Frey’_.

“But I thought that this world was given to him as a gift?” Magnus asked, letting the gears turn in his head.

“Well, yes. I’m surprised Magnus, you seem to not know that much over your father.”

“I ah. Well,” Magnus ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been caught up in other things, so I haven’t really been able to read up about him.”

“Like what, moping around in your room all day? Pictures won’t give you info on your dad, you know.”

Magnus swiveled towards Alex, who was giving him a harsh stare. “What?” She said, her eyes sending chills through him. He felt dangerous signals in the air.

He stared right back at her, bewildered that she suddenly snapped out of nowhere. Magnus clenched his jaw. He knew he should have felt anger, or disappointment, but the only thing running through him was… misery? And despondence?

It was very odd, because the feeling seemed to be gnawing at him, growing rapidly, and seizing his chest. His initial feelings were far from this.

“Magnus, are you okay?” Inge said, her face dripping concern. Magnus wasn’t sure on his appearance at the moment, but it most likely wasn’t radiating happiness.

“Yeah. It’s just been a long day, we just really need to rest.”

“Oh yes, I’m so sorry! This way, please!” She grabbed hold of his and Alex’s wrists, instantly vaporizing them into mist.

Magnus had never teleported before, and he always wanted to know what it was like. He had seen it on TV shows and read it in books, but those depictions were nothing like the real thing.

His body felt light, like a giant weight had been lifted from him. He tried looking down at his arms, but instead saw a golden pattern of little lights. They would shift and threaten to wisp away, but they quickly reformed into the silhouette of his arm again. Alex looked like she was cowering, the expression her face held was distorted from the outline of the lights. Except her essence was filled with green lights, rather than gold like Magnus’s.

Inge, who was still holding on to their wrists, was filled with deep blue lights, and she seemed to be enjoying the experience.

To Magnus, this felt like a weird fever dream.

It all happened too fast, because the moment he blinked again, they were back on the ground, with Inge standing in front of them, deflated and extremely pale.

“Inge!” Magnus yelled, rushing towards her, making sure she wouldn’t collapse.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She said, waving her hand in a ‘ _shoo_ ’ motion.

“Inge, are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, gently grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse. He heartrate was fluttering, and she was slowly tying to steady her breathing.

“Yes, I’ve just never tried bringing more than one person along with me. I’ll be fine, I just need a few moments. Here the forest is lively, so I’ll heal faster.”

“Okay…” Magnus slowly nodded, letting go of her wrist. Inge took a deep breath, and soon the color returned to her face. She was right, the forest was much more dense and powerful here than it was back towards house Alderman.

Magnus took the opportunity to look around, and he was far from surprised.

He didn’t even realize when Inge tried getting his attention.

“Magnus!” She snapped, tugging his sleeve. He shook his head.

“I can’t believe… the elves keep you from this? This is your home?”

All around were trees a bit smaller than the golden willow, but still bigger than he could imagine.

Huts hung around the trees, hidden by the branches. Little bridges connected some of the huts to each house, and the huts themselves were adorned with little stones that glowed in the soft afternoon light. Every hut had different stones, some with blue and others with pink or purple.  The huts seemed to be scattered across acres of trees, and Magnus couldn’t see the end. He wasn’t sure how high the last hut was located.

He saw other _hulders_ walking about on the narrow bridges, some carrying baskets, others chatting and some couples walking side by side, hand in hand.

Some other _hulders_ were using some of the thicker branches of the tree to move about, and he even caught some children sliding themselves down one.

He soon realized that the bridges were woven from the willows’ branches. He wasn’t sure how they held up so well, with so many forest sprites walking and moving. But, then again, they were creatures of air and light.

“I’m sorry, I guess this forest just ceases to amaze me.”

Inge laughed. “It’s okay. Let me show you a place to rest.”

“About that, Inge.” Alex said, biting the inside of her cheek. “Would you mind _not_ putting me and Magnus together? Thanks.” She walked away, towards a tree, while Inge looked at Magnus.

He didn’t understand why Alex was acting this way, after what Inge had done for them. He wasn’t one to lose patience easily, but Alex was really pushing it.

Again, though, the feelings of sadness were filling up inside him. All feelings of anger were dissipating, and he was _really confused._ These certainly couldn’t be his own feelings.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on with… Alex…” His voice cracked. Inge gasped.

“What?!” He said, feeling his voice waver even more. Was he… crying?

Magnus touched his face, and sure enough he felt hot tears along his cheek. His brows knitted. What was going _on?_

“Magnus, pardon for me asking, but what’s wrong? Did you and Alex get into some kind of bad argument?”

“Inge, I wish I could say but I really have no idea what’s going on. And me and Alex don’t even have anything going on! I don’t know why everyone keeps assuming that...”

Inge lowered her head, visible disappointment in her face. Magnus didn’t understand that either, but the biggest thing he was concerned about right now was how to stop those _feelings_ from coming back. And taking over his body.

“Here, it might be a bit difficult for you two to climb up the branches. Let me bring you up there.” Inge touched his hand, and instantly Magnus was brought up to a hut near the edge of the willow. It was small, but looked very comfortable. The front was obscured by a thick blue curtain, which slightly flowed in the wind. But it never fully opened.

“This is for you… I’ll find one for Alex. In the meantime, clean up and I’ll come get you for supper.” With that, Inge smiled, and then _poofed_ into dust. Magnus just stared at the empty space.

He pulled the curtain aside, and took a few steps inside. A small bed was pushed against the corner, with elegant blue sheets and a white cotton pillow.

The walls around him were polished blue, almost like lapis. Hanging around the ceiling were the same strange blue stones he had seen earlier on the exterior parts of the other huts. They were intertwined together with gold wiring, and a few white smaller stones were hung along the swirls of the wire.

The stones, he realized, also gave off a faint glow in the dimmed hut. They gave off a nice blue light.

Which was the only problem. He had a bathroom (to his left), a small rack to hang his things (by the door), and a little chest along the bedside (for his personal items.).

But everything was blue.

Blue was apparently popular with the forest sprites, even though they lived in a green and golden forest. And Magnus didn’t judge them for that, but to him? Blue was his least favorite color.

Just being in the hut made him feel anxious. And he would feel bad asking for another place to stay.

Magnus decided to poke around a bit more, just to get comfortable with all the blue.

His mother would have loved this place, with all the _hulders_ and their small homes. And the way they had everything connected. It was a very peaceful, very tightknit sort of lifestyle. Everyone seemed to be family around here, be it by blood or by pure friendship.

Magnus missed his family. He missed being with his mom, which was his only family. He missed all the times she would take him out, the times they would sit on the couch and watch movies. He missed her calling him pumpkin.

Magnus began to cry again, but this time, it was all intentional. Nobody was there with him, anyways. He could yell and throw things all he wanted.

He hated reacting violently, but knocking things down once in a while calmed him. Not the best thing, but something.

He threw the rack to the ground, and ripped off Jack’s pendant from his neck. He chucked it against the bed, and instead of Jack popping up, he remained silent and still. The pendant laid against the pillow, no scratches or chips.

Of course. He was magic.

Magnus felt so alone, and he didn’t know how to fix it. He had the haunting feeling in the back of his head that he had made Alex upset, but he didn’t know how.

He didn’t know why he did everything he did, but nonetheless, they always came out with awful consequences.

He trudged to the bathroom, only wanting to bathe and sleep. He debated telling Inge he wasn’t up for dinner. Or social interaction.

Especially with Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) i lov hulders and i wanted to explore more of their world so i here it is. not the most descriptive, im sorry.  
> Also i luv Alex but I wanted to express more of her feelings in this fic bc yeah. Sorry if u don't like that.  
> check out my art accounts and main twitter if u want  
> IG: milkymacchiato (more artwork here for now)  
> Tumblr: milkymacchiatos  
> Twitter: SteamiestLatte


	11. XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> POV: Alex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY HELL IM SO SORRY ITS BEEN A MONTH SINCE IVE UPDATED  
> oh god i graduate in 3 months, here comes the crippling anxiety and regret¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> IM CHANGING IT UP A BIT, W ALEX’S POV!!! HOPE U LOT ENJOY THERES A BIG SURPRISE IN THIS CHAPTER :)

“What do you mean ‘ _he’s not coming for dinner’_?”

Alex paced around her hut. She had scattered all her things along the bed, and a few on the floor.

Which only consisted of a photograph, her garrote, and some cans of guava juice.

You could never go wrong with guava juice.

She had assumed that— _if anything ever went right with quests_ —that she could sip some of the godly nectar called _guava juice_. On a train, safely making her way to Chicago.

She liked—no—loved Chicago. There was so much art and life. It was bigger than New York, and much nicer. In her opinion.

The only downside, was her god awful _pedaso-de-mierda_ family.

_Dios, como los odiaba._

But that wasn’t really important to her right now. What was _really_ ticking her off, was a certain blonde _baboso_ named Magnus.

“I’m sorry, when I went to go get him, he seemed really upset. He said he couldn’t bring himself to come to dinner.” Inge said, looking at the ground.

Alex just clenched her jaw.

She wasn’t sure if she was overreacting. But then again, Magnus was very oblivious and didn’t know how to read situations. That’s why it was so fun messing with him.

Which just made her sad, because he was being even stupider this time.

He didn’t even try to acknowledge her as someone close to him. After all the times that they’d spend together, and the things he would say.

She really believed that she was someone close to him, but instead he tried to throw her under the rug like everyone else did. By now, she was used to it.

She never really dwelled on things like this, but with Magnus? The Idiot?

He made her want to rip her hair out sometimes. And other times, she wanted to run her calloused fingers through his golden hair. Or grab his freckled face and kiss him into oblivion.

Alex narrowed her brows, her face in a scowl. She reached into her jeans pocket, clutching the note from Odin. And the feather Sif had given her.

She hated the feather. She hated thinking about pointless things like ‘ _soulmates’_. None of that would help them on this quest. And surely, nobody would like her enough to want to be bound to her for eternity, or whatever.

It was pretty stupid, now that she really though about it. No use in dwelling over feelings when you could just focus on more important things.

Like guava juice and _food._

“When’s dinner, Inge?” Alex asked, ready to devour about five hundred pounds worth of food. She could feel her stomach eating away at itself.

“Now, if you would like.” She said.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

 

 

Alex was lead down the branches of the tree, trying her best not to slip and kill herself. _This isn’t Valhalla, and if I die here, then I can’t strangle Magnus_ She kept reminding herself.

“Careful!” Inge said, clutching her arm. _Es fuerte._

“Thanks” Alex said, trying to catch her breath from nearly falling again, this time from one of the interconnecting bridges. They _seemed_ stable enough. But they certainly weren’t the best for walking. Visible moss covered parts of the wood, and it made Alex slide everywhere.

“By the way, Inge.” Alex started, after a few minutes of walking. Inge turned her head.

“Yes?”

“Can I ask… Back in the other part of the forest. You mentioned me and Magnus…”

Inge bit her lip. “Yeah.

Alex scrunched her brows. “You said: ‘that’s a shame.’ What did you mean?”

Inge broke eye contact, staring at the ground as she led Alex on.

“Am I the first _hulder_ you’ve met?” She finally said.

Alex was confused. Inge was shying away from the question.

“Yes.” She said, staring her down. Alex _hated_ it when people left her in the dark.

“Here, let me tell you over food.” She grabbed Alex’s hand and _poofed_ them to a large clearing of the forest. The trees ringed around them, making Alex feel like… _como una ormiga._

These trees were different from the ones she saw back at her hut. They looked closer together, and the texture of their bark was alien to her. She had the sudden urge to run her hands along it. This would definitely be something she could sculpt later on.

If she ever made it back to Valhalla.

“Come.” Inge said, letting go of her hand. Alex hadn’t even felt her soft skin.

Alex walked alongside Inge, taking in the atmosphere. All around her were _hulders_ of every size and build. Some had blue or white hair, some were visibly larger than others, some were shorter than her legs.

Some had skin darker than obsidian; some had skin as pale as the petals of a white lily. The part she loved the most? They were all huddled together, all of them enjoying each other’s company and time. As far as she could see, there were no barriers. Social barriers.

“Alex, this is where guests are seated.” Inge brought her over to a long table. The surface was polished oak, with many knots in the wood. Those were left unpolished, their curls beveling out. Alex traced her finger along one of them.

“Please, sit.” Inge ordered, politely. Alex glanced down, seeing that they didn’t have chairs, but rather twisted oak branches running along the forest floor. They didn’t look polished to her, but nonetheless, they were slightly curved to comfort whoever sat on it.

She sat down, ready for her food. A few _hulders_ she (obviously) didn’t recognize _poofed_  in front of her, and placed heaping piles of food at the table. In front of her were plates filled with _carne asada, chorizo, tortillas, cebollas fritados, platanos fritados,_ and bowls of _posole._ There were even _gorditas de nopal._

And if that wasn’t enough for her, the _hulders_ brought in small bowls of _crema_ , _aguacate,_ and _pico de gallo._ She was in heaven.

“How?” She asked Inge, gaping at all the food. How had they known her favorite plates? How had they magically _poofed_ them in less than a few seconds of sitting down?

Inge returned her a warm smile. “We are good sprites of plenty, and our magic is bound to the forest. Forest magic knows everything. Even your favorite dishes, since it makes you happy.”

Alex thanked her once again, and took a bit of _everything._ At some point, a _hulder_ brought her a mug filled with guava juice. She was in such a blissful mood, she had almost forgotten about Magnus.

_Almost._

The sight of a slim blond _hulder_ came into her view (as she was shoveling _chorizo con papas_ into her mouth). His hair was neatly cut a little lower than his jaw, and his attire was deep forest green.

Alex stopped eating, her fork clasped in her hand halfway from the plate and her mouth. She suddenly lost her appetite, placing her fork down and shoving the plate away. Inge caught sight of it, and gently laid her hand on Alex’s arm.

“I’m sorry Inge, the food was delicious, I’m just feeling sick.” She said, trying her best to not make eye contact.

“Do you want me to bring you back to your room?”

Alex paused. “I think I just need to walk.”

“Okay.” Inge smiled sadly. “Just call me if you need some company.”

“Yeah.” Alex managed a weak smile back, and curtly stood up, wanting to thank the _hulders_ for their really good food. But they all seemed to be having a great time, and she was afraid her face would give off the impression of bitterness.

It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to it; people used to tell her that she always looked pissed off. That, or ‘ _una cara de burro’._ The latter phrase no thanks to her father.

She never had a place in her heart for her father. Every day of her life, he tried to ruin or make miserable. And of course, it was almost always physical.

Alex padded up towards one of the oaks (she figured that’s what they were, due to the tables.) and ran her hand along the oddity of the bark. Some parts were spaced out more than others, and some were colored lighter. A few places had dried sap, frozen in action as they had dripped down the weird work of nature. She picked at some, but they stayed put no matter how hard she dug her nails.

She noticed how long they had gotten, and had the urge to paint them. But sadly, she was stuck here in Alfheim with a guy she was sure hated her, and with a pointless quest that they probably wouldn’t complete. And to top it off, she was pretty sure she ran out of green nail lacquer. Her favorite.

“Wow Alex you sure are depressing today!” She chided herself. There were plenty of things that could make the day worse, but she decided not to dwell on it too much, since those things would probably happen if she did.

 Trudging off to who-knows-where, she roughly pushed her hands into her hair. She soon realized that she never did that before. Where had she gotten it from?

Oh right. The golden disgrace.

Scowling, she awkwardly walked-jogged past the odd trees and entered the grove of huts. She wasn’t really sure where hers was, but nonetheless, it didn’t stop her from feeling better with the lack of people where she was. Almost all were back in the dining area.

She began to climb up a branch, careful with her footing so she wouldn’t slip and kill herself. She made it up, thankful for all the times she would hike out in the wilderness, or the times she would climb up the trees in her estate.

 _Dios mio, I’m glad I never have to go back there._ Alex thought.

She would rather choke than remember that awful place. The times she would go with Magnus to his uncle’s mansion had brought back some hard times, but for some reason, she felt at ease whenever she would see Magnus with her.

Which totally wasn’t something life changing. It was something everyone felt at some point in their life. Probably. But sometimes, she would feel his calmness and relief wash over her; and she had a trickle of a feeling that this had to do with the nonsense Sif had been spewing out, back at Bright Crack.

Alex half expected to hear the deafening chorus of _ahhhh’s_ spring up through the trees, but she was blessed with the soft whispers of the wind blowing through the waves of golden branches.

She walked along a thick branch, heading towards a narrow bridge, connecting her tree with another; the other being slightly bigger than the one she was on. She swore there were more spiraling branches on that one.

More of an adventure for her.

She jogged down the bridge, and leapt up to a branch a couple feet above her. It may have been childish, but it helped her feel better. Nature calmed her down.

She hoisted herself up, and began to walk along that one too, shoving her hands in her pockets. The breeze was colder up here, she realized. She wondered how high the branches reached. It wouldn’t be the smartest thing to explore up there, she wasn’t sure what could be lurking. And worse— _if ­_ she fell—then she would certainly be in a lot of trouble. Alex decided to keep herself down near the ground. The closest thing to death down there was a few broken bones.

After what felt like an eternity, the cold became a bit unbearable. She unknotted the light pink sweater around her waist, and shrugged it on. She continued to walk along, as she adjusted it to cover her garrote. The golden snake _S’s_ were a bit big, so it took time to pull the sweater over them.

A few moments later, Alex had passed a hut, not yet knowing that she had gone higher up in the tree. Some odd feeling in her gut, like a tug, was guiding her somewhere. That somewhere was upwards, she realized.

The hut she passed was adorned with curtains bluer than sapphire. The windows were obscured with golden drapes, and there was no visible light source to be seen from the inside. The only thing that caught her attention, was subtle weeping coming from the small hut.

 _“Quien será?”_ she muttered. It wasn’t like she was going to go inside. These were _hulders_. She barely knew of them, and walking into someone’s house and suddenly ‘comforting’ them would be very unpolite. And most likely illegal. Did _hulders_ even have laws?

Other than having to display their tails. Which Alex still found disturbing and awful. Whenever she remembered the look Inge had on her face when she was explaining the law, she could feel the blood boiling inside her.

She was brought back to reality when she heard a loud sob escape from the hut. She didn’t realize she was lingering.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, mom. I’m sorry. I don’t understand why I keep feeling like this… I wish you were here.”

Alex felt a flush of sorrow churn in her chest. Her breath hitched, and she felt like her heart was snapping bit by bit. A sob crept up her throat, threatening to escape. She swallowed the lump, and her hand crept down into her jeans pocket. Her fingers curled around the feather and note.

The voice was Magnus, and somehow, she stumbled across his hut. How in Helheim?

She found herself walking towards the thick fabric obscuring Magnus’s door. She had barged in unannounced into his suite before, how could this be any different? Yet still, she felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach, and she wasn’t sure how to approach him. Especially because earlier she was angry with him. But that anger died down after a while, and she felt bad afterward; for mistreating Magnus.

But then again, he had denied the chance to tell Inge something other than ‘I could never.’ That’s what killed her most. The fact that, even after denying that they weren’t _anything,_ he said he would _never._ That he _could never._

It wasn’t the first time that happened to her. She wasn’t good enough for anyone, and the fact that she was genderfluid and transgender disgusted tons of people she knew. Those same people told her she would never find anyone to stick around her. She would remain alone and die in a fiery hell, according to her dad’s side of the family. Especially her dad.

She had the sudden urge to turn back, and leave Magnus to dwell on his feelings alone. He didn’t _need_ her. He could _never_ want her.

But the other half of her heart broke when she heard him cry. Like some stupid motherly instinct. He was still one of her only closest friends, and she couldn’t leave him.

She took a deep breath, and grasped the drape with sweaty palms. She slowly pulled them aside, enough to slip inside. The sun had already set, so pale moonlight poured into the small hut, illuminating a hunched over Magnus on his bed. The heel of his hand was pushed up against his eye, the other clutching a crumpled photograph on his bed. His pendent wasn’t visible. Alex quickly scanned the area, finding Jack alongside the opposite wall. The stone was sloppily strewn across the floor. Magnus had chucked him, apparently. There was a small dent in the wall.

Alex knitted her brows, the foreign feeling of sadness creeping over her again. It mixed in with her own, making her heart feel like it was ripped in two. Seeing Magnus like this… it didn’t sit well with her one bit.

“Hey,” She said softly. “Magnus…”

He looked up, streaks of tears running along his cheeks. He seemed surprised at first, his eyes widening. Then, he looked down again, his hair covering his face.

“How did you find… I thought you were angry.” He took a deep breath.

“Magnus.” She said trailing towards him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean. _Dios,_ I was being stupid.”

He didn’t move.

“Magnus.” She repeated, kneeling in front of him. Under a burst of confidence, she clutched his hands, not caring how soft they felt under her own calloused ones.. “You can talk to me.”

He lifted his eyelids, his long lashes caked with dried tears. His stormy grey eyes were tinged with red, and slightly swollen. She had never seen him like this.

“You miss her.” She said, not breaking contact with him. “I know what that’s like. And I know it’s so hard, but you can’t shut yourself in from the world, it’ll only make it worse. I’m here for you Beantown. That’s what—what friends are for. Hallmates, remember?” Alex felt tears threatening to spill out too. She blinked a couple times to keep them in.

It may have sounded stupid, but she knew that she had to do something to ease Magnus’s soul.

“Yeah.” He said dully. “I guess I’m not used to this kind of thing.”

Alex smiled slightly, feeling his spirits lift a bit. She lifted herself onto his bed, still holding her right hand over his.

“Magnus, I’m sorry. This stupid quest is hard enough, and me acting like… _como una burra,_  isn't doing anything but hurt you.”

Magnus smiled. So, he _did_ remember what few words she had taught him in Spanish.

Alex smiled herself, feeling a bit content with her ability to make Magnus feel better.

“I’m sorry.” Magnus said softly, after a long silence

“For what?” Alex asked, her brows knitted.

“For saying what I said back there. I didn’t mean.” His voice trailed off. “I like you Alex. I couldn’t imagine my life as an einherji without you.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

Alex slowly retreated her hand from Magnus’s. She couldn’t believe that he apologized…

_He said he ‘liked’ you!_

“You—I mean.” Alex’s eyes were wide and blinking with disbelief. “It’s okay.” She said, breathing and calming herself down. She had her feelings under control. It was all good.

Magnus had begun to cry again, and this time she really didn’t know why.

“I’m sorry, this is stupid.” He said. “I just feel like I can’t stop. I have people who really care for me, but. I don’t know.” He laughed, but there was nothing happy coming from it.

“Stop.” Alex said. She wasn’t the best at advice, but she knew that she needed to get Magnus to be himself again.

“Maggie, you’re supposed to be this sunshiny golden happy boy. I can’t stand to see you like this! It hurts me too! We care for you so much! I—” her voiced died.

She grabbed his face, her fingers gently digging into his cheeks. She brought her face so close to his, she could feel his small breaths on her mouth.

“I care for you.” She whispered, closing the gap between them. His lips felt utterly soft against her own. Magnus was stunned for a moment, she knew, since he didn’t kiss back. But right before she let go, he slid his hands around her neck and pulled her in, _closer._

 _Santa maria._ Alex thought. The kiss felt otherworldly. No pun intended.

Alex let go of his face, her hands running along the soft mane of Magnus’s hair. Their noses bumped against each other, as their kiss became deeper.

Alex pulled away, leaving a hairs width apart from their lips. “So much.” She mumbled into his lips, finishing her previous statement. Magnus pulled her in again, angling his head. Her breath hitched, and she found herself craving _more._

She tugged at his hair fiercely, feeling herself melt into his body. Magnus’s hands roamed sluggishly around her lower back, finally moving up her sweater. She broke the kiss once again, panting as she placed her hands on top of Magnus’s.

“Wait.” She said, fear suddenly rising in her body. Was she even ready for anything past a kiss? She was never expecting a kiss from him; much less something this… passionate.

He put his hands on her cheeks, like she did to him, and looked into her eyes. She felt bare, and her breath left her lungs.

She felt the fear disperse, at the sight of his eyes. It was cheesy, but they seemed to draw her in and give her comfort.

She grabbed his wrists and pushed him down on the bed, her heart pounding in her chest.

She leaned down and kissed him again, letting herself fall onto him. His arms slid around her neck again, deepening the kiss.

 _What are you doing?_ A small voice inside her rang out. _This is Magnus, a friend._ Tu hermano. _Does he even like you? Is he just doing this out of emotion? He was sad, it could mean nothing to him._

Her anxiety sprung out of nowhere. Dread kept gnawing her, telling her to stop, to give it up.

Magnus could be tired, or hurt. He couldn’t mean to be doing this out of love.

Why would anyone love her?

Alex broke away, instantly lifting herself off Magnus. His hands trailed down her sweater, which was dangerously close to being completely off, along with her sweater vest and t-shirt. She sat up on the bed, her breathing frantic.

“I’m sorry, this was a mistake.” She said, standing up, head spin immediately taking her over.

Magnus sat up, and stared at her with his big grey eyes. She _hated_ when he did that.

“Alex...”

“I can’t.” She said, pulling her sweater down and briskly making her way towards his door. Magnus bolted out of bed, and gently grabbed her hand. She turned around.

 _Nadie te va a querer, mijo._ She heard her father spat, clearly like she was reliving the moment. Her father was grasping her arm hard enough to leave bruises. _Pinche pendejo. Tu no eres mijo mio. Tu no eres normal ._ He slapped her. _Eres un monstruosidad._

 She shook her hand free.

“I’m sorry.” She repeated, shoving the curtain aside and leaving as quickly as possible. She couldn’t be with Magnus. Everything was falling into ruins again, just like her father had promised.

“Fuck.” She mumbled, giving much space from Magnus’s hut as she could. She could see him coming out after her.

Willing herself to change, she turned into a dove and fluttered off. She didn’t really know where she was going, but at least it was somewhere far, _far_ away from Magnus.

Once she landed by a foreign hut, she turned back into her usual self, and found her legs too weak to stand upright. She moved towards the base of the tree, well away from the hut and leaned against the rough bark. She closed her eyes, and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Inge.” She called out, in no particular direction.

Inge appeared in a puff of golden smoke. “Alex?”

“Don’t” She flicked her free hand in a ‘don’t-question-it’ motion.

“Right,” Inge sighed. “You want to go back to your hut?”

“Yes please.” She said, finally relaxing her hand, and placing it into Inge’s. For now, she was going to debate whether to ditch Magnus and face Odin’s ‘all powerful wrath’, or face Magnus.

The former seemed more appeasing.

As soon as Inge returned Alex, she slumped into her bed, pulling her garrote free and fiddling with it.

“Hello _daughter._ ” Came a voice from the other side of her room. Alex bolted upright, her knuckles turning white as she clutched the snake handles.

“What do you want?” She said, her voice liked steel. She felt her blood begin to boil, and her eyes burned bright in the dark.

Loki stepped out from the shadows, his autumn-leaf covered hair glinting in the soft moonlight. Suddenly, he shifted, and he was soon a tall, slender redheaded woman, with a green dress that accentuated her deep emerald eyes.

“To talk.” Was all she said, as she approached Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o yea i forgot to mention earlier, this chapter is long :)  
> Um I hope I wasn’t too cheesy with this chapter, and before anyone complains about the Spanish, Alex is CANONICALLY Mexican. Her last name is FIERRO WHICH MEANS IRON.  
> Which is funny bc ((I’m Salvadorian and Mexican)) we use ‘fierro’ in Salvadorian Spanish, and ‘hierro’ in Mexican Spanish. So it would make more sense if she was Salvadorian but ya know the point is she’s Latinx and THATS WHY SHE THINKS AND SPEAKS IN SPANISH  
> I’m sorry for my non-Spanish speaker readers! I do hope you enjoyed the chapter!!


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